Sounds Like Friendship
by DrSpaceWizard Esq
Summary: Myles is a pony sick of his own failures, the latest of which has landed him a thankless job guarding Ponyville from the creatures living in the Everfree forest. When Twilight Sparkle arrives, his job gets a lot easier, then immediately even more difficult. Watch him unravel a lost magical art and try to be nice to ponies for a change. T for fake swears and violence.
1. Book 1- Ch 1

**Needed something creative to do that didn't really matter, well not exactly, but something I can't worry about. So here's a thing… whaddyacallit… fanfic. That's it. Used to not think much of this sortve thing, but I started reading others one day and decided they weren't that bad. Not even sure I'm gonna post all this. One thing I've never read is comments or reviews on this site, so hopefully those aren't violently offensive. I don't own My Little Pony, obviously.**

**Feels really weird to be typing that after reading something similar all those times, but no giving up now. Hope the story is more rewarding. And sorry, my OC (another weird thing to type) is kind of a jerk at random times for most of this chapter, but, y'know, character development or bust. I'll probably go back and rewrite some of this once I figure everything out.**

Episode 1 – Friendship is Magic Pt. 1 or Shards of Life

Impatient knocking woke Myles from his sleep. He carefully peeled his face off of his worktable and checked his nearby materials. Examining each crystal by lifting it with his magic and turning it around, he found the only one stuck to the table was the small green one from the first night he had fallen asleep trying to work. Looking to the window, he saw the dull glow of the early sunrise. A frown crossed his face as the knocking sounded again, louder this time. Casually pushing the navy blue section of his mane over his horn so that it no longer hung in front of his eyes, he opened the front door to an irritated mare.

"Mr. Shadsal," the grey-coated mare began.

"Shardsole," Myles corrected automatically. When the mare's glowering increased, he added, "Your… Mayorlyness?"

"Just Mayor," Mayor Mare sighed. "I need a report on the status of the Everfree Forest."

Myles blinked, still half asleep. "Uhhh… it's still there."

"This is not a matter to joke about, Princess Celestia is coming to Ponyville for-"

"-The Summer Sun Celebration and absolutely nothing must go wrong. I know." Myles finished with slight frustration not quite hidden in his tone.

"And yet instead of securing the border between the forest and the town, you are apparently sleeping in… again." The Mayor narrowed her eyes as Myles failed to hide a yawn.  
"I told you I'm working on-"

"-a solution," Mayor Mare looked down her nose at him, "So you've said. I noticed this solution appears to be exclusively inside your house and not at the border, where your post is."

"My house is ON the border."

"I'd be surprised you could hear any disturbance from in here, I had to knock a total of-"

"Will you be approaching a point soon or should I go make breakfast while I wait?"

The Mayor's face deepened to a true scowl.

"If anything disrupts the celebration I will hold you personally responsible. Fortunately the Princess will be on hand to witness your incompetence firsthand, so filing a complaint will be easy. I've still no idea how somepony like you earned her recommendation."

"Well here's a start, my job is to protect Ponyville from the creatures, magic and what have you from the Everfree Forest."

"I'm aware of-"

"So turn around."

"What?" The Mayor seemed surprised, but looked behind her regardless.

"Is Ponyville still there?"

"Well of cours-" the Mayor began, but as she turned around the door was shut in her face. "I simply cannot believe the impudence of-" the Mayor's mumbling faded away as she stormed off in anger. Myles grumbled to himself, moving to his kitchen and levitating two pieces of bread into the toaster, the handle briefly glowed a dull gray-blue as he pushed it down with his magic. Going back to the fridge, he continued his muttered complaints to no one, "Gotta be outside and just staring at trees the whole time? What constitutes protection, exactly? I'm here aren't I? When a manticore tries to get into town I stop it don't I? Even if it's THREE A.M.!" he finished with a shout, slamming his refrigerator door and setting the milk and butter dish on the counter.

Myles leaned on the counter, his head propped up in his hoof as he stared at the toaster. Next to him, the milk floated up a bit and tipped over, beginning to pour itself out into a glass. Suddenly the milk carton shook and dropped to the counter on its side, pouring its contents out on the floor and knocking the glass over. Without looking, Myles kept the glass from rolling off the counter with his other hoof and let his head down onto the counter with a thud.

"…buck…" his voice was muffled by the countertop. He lay there for a minute, before lifting his head and going to the closet to fetch a mop, which he gripped with his hooves and began to clean the floor with. "I'll be honest, your Mayorlyness," he grumbled, "I don't know why I got recommended either…"

He finished cleaning up and tossed the milk carton away when suddenly the smell of burning caught his attention. He turned to the toaster, which was emitting smoke and growled as he flipped the lever up manually to reveal two pieces of bread-shaped charcoal. "Eating out, then I guess…" he said to no one before correcting himself, "Oh no wait, that would mean leaving my post, guess I'll have to pick something up." He levitated his dark blue saddlebag over his back and dropped it on his shoulders, only seeming lighter when compared to the navy blue pattern on his back coat, but was still darker than the light gray-blue section of his coat starting from his flanks and extending down his legs and front. He frowned at the contrast, remembering some past insults associated with it. He hadn't been teased about it since Canterlot, though he wouldn't doubt they still said such things behind his back. His frown deepened at these memories as he closed his front door behind him and headed for the local farm, judging by the position of the sun, the shops wouldn't be open yet.

On the way, he heard a familiar springy noise and quietly groaned in anticipation of what comes next.

"Hello, Pinkie," he said with a sigh.  
"Hey! Wow! How do you always do that? Are you sure you don't have a Pinkie sense too? Or like a Shadowsal-"

"Shardsole" He corrected automatically.

"-Shardowslaw sense?" the pink pony finished, bouncing backwards in front of him. Myles considered correcting her again, but thought better of it as he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"But you always know I'm there before I say anything! It's so neat! It's like magic! Oh right!" she tapped her hoof to his horn, causing him to flinch a little, "Speaking of neat magic, would you like to come to a pre-Summer Sun Celebration part-"

"Can't, too busy."

He could swear he actually heard a balloon deflate somewhere as she stopped hopping and frowned a bit. "Awwww. But you're ALWAYS busy! Or asleep! Or Sleepily busy! Or busy sleeping! Or sleepy busing! Or-"

"Yup," he said as he continued to walk, "pretty much…" he mumbled to no one in particular, realizing she was having too much fun to notice he had kept going. Before long he arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and was surprised to find a small crowd milling outside the barn. He attempted to get one's attention to no avail when he suddenly heard somepony shout his name.

"Howdy, Myles!" he turned to see a familiar orange coat and cowboy hat and smirked, it was always interesting talking to Applejack, her problems always seemed so much more straight forward and she was rarely visibly stressed about them. It reminded him that life could be simple, when it wanted to.

"Hey Applejack," he replied, then gestured towards the crowd, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Naw, this here's my family, we're having the Apple Family reunion right before the Summer Sun celebration, this here's Applefritt-" Applejack began, indicating one of the ponies in the crowd, but Myles held up a hoof.

"Sorry Applejack, I have to get back to the edge of the forest, I can meet your family some other time."

"Aw shucks, Myles, you're always busy, the forest may be creepy but it aint gonna explode if you stop looking at it for five minutes."

"I wouldn't put it past it to try."

Applejack laughed as she went into the barn and brought out a small bag of apples.

"Alright sugarcube, but I think you still deserve a break once in a while. Unfortunately the kitchen's occupied preparing meals for the reunion so I've got nothing ready to go to market, will these be okay?" She held up the bag of apples.

"Yeah those'll be fine," he said as he opened his saddlebag and rummaged around for some bits, then looked back at Applejack nervously, "Uhhhhh…I'm a bit short of …bits at the moment, could I interest you in a crystal that-"

"It's alright sugarcube, it's on the house."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely," she smiled as she tucked the bag into his saddlebag.

"Thanks AJ," he smiled, just a bit, as he made his way back to his house.

"See ya round, Myles!" Applejack waved, Myles casually waved back over his shoulder.

As he neared his home, he let out another sigh as he spotted a yellow pegasus waiting outside his house, seeming to be locked in a heavy debate over how hard to knock.

"Something wrong, Fluttershy?" he spoke up when he was a short distance from her, causing her to jump and spin in his direction.

"Oh," she seemed to calm down a bit, standing back up from the ground, where she had been in a stance as if preparing to take flight. "There you are."

"Yeahp," Myles let out bluntly, "There I am. What's up?"

"I just wanted to ask, if it wasn't too much trouble, if you could make extra certain there isn't anything leaving…" she shivered as she glanced at the tree line, "…. The forest."

Myles put a hoof to his head in exasperation, "How am I supposed to do that any more or less than usual? It's my job, I'm doing it! Why does everyone have to keep pestering me about it?" Fluttershy recoiled a little bit as he raised his voice, but stood up straight to speak once more.

"I know, but there's a lot of little creatures coming out of the …forest… acting like they are really frightened of something. Something they won't even tell me about."

Myles sighed again, "Well don't worry, whatever it is, its staying in the forest," she recoiled a bit at the mention of the woods, "I'll make sure of it."

"Okay," Fluttershy took off and started gliding away, "Thanks Myl-" her voice faded to a mumble as she floated off.

"Whatever," he mumbled as he set his saddle bag down and pulled an apple out with his magic, taking a bite as he turned towards the crystals on his table. He stared at them grumpily, then set the apple down as he focused on the one he had been working on. His horn lit up as he attempted to push magic inside and enchant the crystal. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he concentrated, hearing the all too familiar humming as the crystal vibrated with energy. The hum built in pitch and volume until it was no longer a basslike thrum but a high-pitched squeal like feedback on a sound system. Myles frowned and ducked under the table as the sound escalated to a ringing and the crystal exploded into tiny fragments, several embedded into his walls while the rest scattered across the floor. He growled and picked up his apple again, opening his mouth to take a bite when he noticed a shiny object in it. Picking the crystal shard out, he wiped the apple off on his hoof and took another large bite. Looking at his saddlebag, he noticed several tiny holes in the side and made a mental note to look before he bit in to any of the apples he had brought home. Once again, he gave out a heavy sigh and slumped against the side of his bed.

Myles levitated a crystal from his bedside table in front of his face and tapped it with his hoof. A pair of violas could be heard beginning a slow melody and were soon joined by cellos playing the same tune half an octave up to match them. More instruments joined in as Myles closed his eyes and listened to the music build and waving his ears back and forth as though conducting the orchestra, then transferring the crystal to his hoof and sinking lower to the ground.

"It still works. Of course it still works. No matter how long ago it's been, it still works." He opened his eyes and looked at the table, which showed new scars from his latest attempt. He frowned at something barely audible and continued, "But only for the music. Never something that could actually help."

A growl echoed from the woods, causing Myles' ears to stand up and him to set the crystal down gently before kicking his front door open and galloping over to the tree line.

"And speaking of things that AREN'T HELPING!" he ended in a shout at the fully grown manticore snarling at him, "Didn't we have this disagreement last night?" He asked mockingly. The manticore couldn't have understood him as he didn't have Fluttershy's gift for communication, but evidently some of his taunting tone was clear to it as the lion's head roared at him.

"Yeah," he said, smiling, "That's what _I _said."

The manticore leapt and Myles rolled sideways, letting the manticore's claws dig into the soil where he was standing before. It turned its head as it heard a whistle from the forest, it ripped it's claws from the ground and brought itself around to face a smiling Myles.

"You're really determined to do this whole song and dance again, aren't you?"

The manticore charged again pursuing Myles as he ran into the Everfree Forest, the trees shook as the beast roared in frustration. The forest shook and smaller animals fled every time the manticore's tail struck the ground where Myles had been standing instants before. Myles galloped on, leaping over fallen logs and large gnarled roots, finally running up the trunk of a tree that had been struck by lightning and fallen over, now leaned up against a small cliff. Grinning, Myles turned back to see an empty forest, the smile sliding off his face as he heard a low growl build behind him.

His eyes went wide as he leapt from the cliff into the small pool of bog water below. Behind him, claws the size of wheelbarrows scraped the rocks where he had been standing and the manticore roared in frustration. Myles erupted from the water and shook filthy water from his mane, before sprinting off again, an instant before the manticore slammed into the pool and set off after him.

"You actually remembered?" he shouted back, panting as he maintained a fast pace to stay ahead of the monster, "I didn't know our talks mattered that much to you, I'm touched, really."

Myles pulled a nearby branch back with his magic and let it snap back into place as he passed. From behind he heard a roar of pain as the branch collided with the manticore's face. Myles chuckled as he tried again with another branch, but looked around when he heard no roar to see the monster ducking under the branch. "Paying attention now huh?" Myles smirked as he attempted to shift a log into its path, the log shuddered but remained in place. "Not now!" he looked at the magic around his horn flicker out.

He turned his eyes forward as he almost tripped over the root of a tree and muttered, "Okay Everfree, gimme something to work with." He scanned the woods ahead. "Caves? No escape route. Swamps? Dunno what else lives there yet. Cmon, work with me." He pleaded. Suddenly his eyes went wide and he planted all his hooves on the ground and leaned back, skidding to a stop. "That'll do, thanks," he whispered as he heard trees crashing behind him and felt the whole forest shake with the creature's heavy footfalls.

Myles casually turned around and smiled as the thirty foot beast leapt at him again. "Sooooo….. we're cool, right?" Myles jumped sideways again as the manticore sailed roaring over the edge and into the basin overgrown in trees and vines. Raising an ear, he waited until he heard a loud thud and winced, before turning and walking back towards Ponyville.

"Good talk, buddy."

When Myles arrived back at his house, it was past noon and he was too exhausted to try and find lunch, or close the door. He bit into one of his apples, spat out a few crystal shards, showered the muck from the bog away and finally collapsed into his bed.

Myles felt something poke him but simply rolled his head towards the pillow. Something poked him harder and this time it also spoke.

"Myles Shardsole?"

"Shardso-" Myles began automatically, but then he frowned in confusion, "I mean, yeah that's me."

"Are you alright?"

Myles rolled over to see a strange unicorn mare he'd never met before. He sat up and tried to come up with something.

"I'm as alright as you are …. purple…?" He hesitated, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Wha-?" the mare began.

"Gimme a minute, I'll come up with something better."

"Riiiiiight…." She fixed a skeptical gaze on him, "Anyways, I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia sent me to make sure everything is prepared for the Summer Sun Celebration, she said you were in charge of protecting the town from the creatures that live in the Everfree Forest, I'm here to check that it's been done."

Myles had gotten up and started examining the apple he had taken a bite out of earlier, he idly picked a few specks of crystal out of it and took notice of what appeared to be a baby dragon, also purple, wandering around his house. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Twilight.

"That's Spike, my assistant." Twilight explained.

"Hi," Spike waved at Myles as the dragon reached up towards the bedside table.

"Well, the town is still there and not currently being attacked. I don't get why this is so hard for everypony to see- HEY!" He spun around and took the crystal out of Spike's claw with his magic. It floated over next to him as he scolded Spike, "Careful with that! You always go into pony's houses and grab everything? How'd you even get in here-" he looked worried as the crystal wobbled in mid-air and then stretched out a hoof to catch it. Time seemed to slow as the crystal tumbled past his hoof towards the floor. He winced as the crystal glowed purple and stopped a millimeter from the floor. It levitated upwards again. "Thanks, I-" Myles attempted to grab the crystal, it floated away from him.

"The door was open." Twilight said matter-of-factly as she looked at the crystal.

"What?" said Myles as he reached again for the crystal.

"Your front door was open. That's how we got in. We thought something might've happened to you," she explained, bringing the crystal closer to herself and keeping it out of Myles' reach.

"Thanks for your concern but- Listen, could you just hand that over…" Myles said, Twilight raised an eyebrow at him, "…please?" She narrowed her brow and refocused on the crystal.

"What's so important about this one? You've got plenty of crystals," she nodded towards the work table. She wondered why he had such a collection, none of them were particularly good specimens and he didn't have them out in a manner to be displayed, more like tools left out in the middle of work.

"Yeah, but-" Myles began but stopped as Twilight allowed the crystal to settle on her extended hoof, immediately the crystal began playing music again, which caused Twilight's eyes to widen in surprise. She backed up as Myles made another grab for the crystal, then finally sat back and grumbled.  
"That one works."

"I don't get it, crystals reflect magic, or at least mess it up, but this is definitely magic, did…" she hesitated and glanced at Myles, "did you enchant this?" Myles nodded. "How?"

"I don't know!" Myles snapped, "Okay? That one works, it's the first one that did and the only one I have left!" His head hung in shame as he continued "And I've no idea how…"

"But you did this? How could you not know how you did it?" Twilight asked with genuine curiosity, Myles' eyebrow twitched momentarily, but then he seemed to realize she didn't mean it as an insult.

"Because I tried it when I was young, didn't really plan it out and believe me, I was shocked when it worked. It was nice to have an extra credit project actually worth something, for once," he smirked.

"Then this is the crystal that you showed Princess Celestia? This is what she sponsored you to research when you left the academy in Canterlot?" Twilight asked.

His smirk vanished. "Told you about that, did she?" Twilight nodded. "Did she mention I've made no progress since and she sent me to Ponyville as punishment?"

Twilight looked shocked, "Actually she seemed to think you've made excellent progress, considering enchanting crystals was once thought impossible, and she said the move to Ponyville was so you could get a fresh outlook on your work." Myles let out a snort.

"Sounds like something she'd say. It all sounds great the way she puts it, doesn't it? Even if it doesn't make sense."

"Actually," Twilight frowned, "I know what you mean. She ignored my warning about Nightmare Moon and told me to come here and make friends." She laughed a little and Myles' smirk returned.

"Probably makes perfect sense to her." He chuckled.

"So," Twilight held the crystal to her ear, listening carefully, "There were other crystals?"

"Yeah," Myles admitted, turning back to his apple and taking a bite, "but only ones that light up or play music, nothing useful."

"Light could be useful and what's wrong with music?"

"There wasn't enough light to see by and you couldn't even pick what song you wanted. Never could make rhyme or reason why some songs worked and some didn't." He held out his hoof for the crystal. Twilight narrowed her eyes in concentration.

"What's that sound?"

"What soun- oh you mean like a ringing or humming sound?"

Twilight nodded.

"That's the energy bleed out," Myles stated, continuing only when Twilight looked at him questioningly, "The crystalline formation is usually imperfect, so the energy from the spell is disrupted by any impurities and gets forced out, usually as kinetic energy. What you are hearing is the surface vibrating as the energy is transferred."

Twilight stared at Myles, who shifted uneasily.

"What?" he asked nervously, wondering why everything he said had to lead to more questions or weird looks.

"That sounded … intelligent."

"You sound surprised. What you think I spent the entire time just trying to force spells into the crystal like an idiot? I actually did research this, it just never amounted to anything." He took a bite of his apple and winced as he bit into something hard. He then removed the crystal shard from his tongue before lowering his ears and continuing, "Okay, sometimes I try and just force spells in there, but it's not like I have anything to go on, scientifically speaking."

"You've checked everything?"

"Yeah."

"Crystal size, color, composition?"

"Yes."

"Spell power and complication?"

"Yeahp."

"What about-?"

"Believe me, Twilight, it's been years since I enchanted that thing and I have checked everything! OKAY?!" Twilight backed up again as Myles raised his voice with every word. He seemed to realize he had been pushing her back and turned around. "Sorry, Twilight, bit of a sore subject. Look the forest is secure, I'm always here in case something happens. Always," he frowned again, picking up the crystal with his magic and carefully setting it back on the table. "So you don't have to worry about that. I'm sure you're very busy, so-"

"Why does the hum follow the music? Shouldn't the sound be constant, isn't it a recording of one continuous performance?"

"The hums' always there, I've had that for so long, I guess I just tune it out."

"I realize that, but the sound increases as the music does, it should always be the same, shouldn't it?."

"What? No it-" Myles held the crystal up to his ear, stopping as it began to play again. His ears stood up straight and he froze. After a few moments, Twilight reached a hoof towards him.

"Myl-"

"Shh!" He cut her off and narrowed his eyes as he focused on the music.

The violas danced up the scale, the cellos joined in, then the rest, just like they always had. Something had always bothered him about the recording, seemed off about the sound. It was a song he used to like, though it had worn thin over the years, especially with the unidentified irregularity. Now he heard the song and the hum he had ignored for so long. He could see the performers lift the bows of their instruments, pausing between notes. As the last note faded, so did the hum. When the next note played, the hum swelled in unison with the music. The note was even similar to the cello section of the song.

The sound harmonized with the music as much as possible.

Myles slowly lowered the crystal to the table and mumbled, "…seriously? That's all it was?"

Twilight barely heard him, but after taking a moment she spoke, "What is it?"

His head whipped around and Twilight found herself hastily retreating from a manic grin.

"You don't know? But you pointed it out? How could you not know?" he seemed half crazed but still sincere to Twilight.

"Pointed what out? What are you talking about? Are you alright?"

"No!" He shouted, laughing, "I'm stuck on the edge of a town where everyone pesters me about my job when my job should have been figuring this out, but it shouldn't have taken so long!" He grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil, hastily scribbling as he spoke, "The energy bleeding out is harmonizing with the music itself! It's vibrating the crystal at a frequency and pitch matching the output of the spell! It's not perfect, so it's noticeably off-key, but the fact that the expenditure even remotely follows the spells purpose and bleeds out due to imperfections in the storage method means the spell itself must have a wavelength, a tempo, pitch, amplitude, EVERYTHING!"

"How does that help?" Twilight skeptically demanded. She glanced briefly at the pad as he set down the pencil to see a hasty drawing of a wave reverberating inside a crystal shape set beside a musical scale.

"It changes everything! The music was the key all along! The light spells must've been a complete fluke but the MUSIC! THE MUSIC MEANT EVERYTHING!" He rounded on one of the crystals and shot a bolt of magic at it from his horn. The crystal began shaking before settling on a hum then going silent. Myles touched the crystal and once again his shout was heard, this time originating from the crystal. "THE MUSIC MEANT EVERYTHING!"

"But that was a recording of something you said, not music!"

"I know," said Myles, biting his lip in excitement. He shot magic at another crystal and seemed to concentrate harder this time, the hum was barely audible and didn't seem to Twilight to change pitch at all, but Myles seemed satisfied as it stopped. Before Twilight could ask what he'd done, she braced herself as she saw Myles throw the half eaten apple directly at her.

"What are you doing!? You could've hit-" she fell silent as she opened her eyes.

The apple was suspended above the crystal, a pale glowing barrier had stopped it in mid-flight.

"YES!" Myles shouted skywards in joy as he ran up to Twilight and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Magic has a waveform, crystalline structures work as an energy conducting sounding board and YOU," he pulled away from the hug and placed a hoof on Twilight's nose, "Are a bucking beautiful genius!" Twilight barely had time to react as he directed his horn at the pile of crystals on the workbench and swept a spell across them all, then swept them all off the surface and into his saddlebags, he turned and enchanted one last crystal, tying it to his neck with a loose piece of cord, it glowed briefly but then he pushed past Twilight and out the door before she could ask what he'd done.

"…is he gonna be okay?" Spike asked quietly. Twilight turned and placed him on her back. "Let's find out."

Outside they spotted Myles galloping down the tree line, cackling like a madpony and slamming a crystal from his saddle bag into the ground at regular intervals. When he made it to the end he galloped back, adding a few more in front of places that seemed like animal trails before coming to stop in front of Twilight and lifting the crystal around his neck. Twilight looked concerned.

"Do you hear it?" He asked, not attempting at all to contain his glee.

"Hear what?" After a moment, Twilight gasped as the crystal began emitting light in the shape of a convex lens, forming what appeared to be half an upside-down fishbowl.

"Here we go," whispered Myles as he extended a hoof towards the forest. As it passed over the line of crystals, the crystal in Myles hoof emitted a tone and a small spot on the fishbowl changed from its uniform blue shell to form a tiny red oval.

The shape of a miniscule hoof.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Twilight and Spike covered their ears as Myles ran a few laps around them, shouting at the top of his lungs, before embracing them both in a hug once more and then just as quickly turning back to his house.

"Nothing goes in or out of that forest without me knowing now, Twilight Sparkle! You enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration. I'm going to start catching up on MONTHS of sleep! Maybe I'll pop by Pinkie Pie's party later, she'll be so surprised! I could swing by the Summer Sun Celebration MYSELF! I can finally do what I waaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaahhhnnnyt!" His shout involuntarily turned into a yawn. "I'm gonna go ahead and start with sleep though."

He bolted towards his door and shut it. Twilight turned to walk away with a smile when he sprinted back out and hugged her again, "You are. The best friend. I have ever had. Thank you." Twilight thought she saw his eyes watering as he ran back into his house. She was still shaken by his statement and how genuine it had seemed. Then she shook her head and looked to the sky saying, "That's not going to stop Nightmare Moon. C'mon, Spike, we have to finish checking on the preparations for the ceremony and find a way to stop her."

"That guys' in charge of security? I'm more worried about that."

"You saw what he did, he may act strange but he seems to have the situation in control. Probably more so now than ever before." She stated confidently as she walked back towards the center of town as Spike merely shrugged in reply.

Myles woke slowly, stretching and yawning until he felt the weight of the crystal tied to his neck. As he remembered the afternoon's events, he couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. It had been so long and the first crystal had always felt a bit like stupid luck. He'd researched for years and until today had only found evidence of why it shouldn't work. Now it finally all made sense. He didn't even care that somepony else figured it out, this was only the beginning and he had the key to making the rest of the process work now.

Looking over to his clock, he frowned, it was early morning of the next day. He had likely missed Pinkie Pie's party as he had about a half hour before the Princess' appearance at the celebration. He tore an old leather bag apart and formed it into a bracer that would fit around his left front foreleg, then he took the crystal and set it between layers, using the cord to secure it in place. It still looked a little shabby, but it was a tad more useful than having it swing about his neck. Making sure the leather was snug around his hoof and leg, he galloped towards city hall for the celebration, eager to show Princess Celestia the first useful progress made in his research after so much failure.

As he approached the doors, Myles heard Mayor Mare speaking to the crowd, he had only just made it in time. He opened one of the doors quietly and slid into the room without anypony noticing. He looked around and saw a few familiar faces, but missed the one he was searching for until he found the one pony not looking at the stage. Twilight Sparkles eyes' were turned skyward, staring at the moon with a nervous look on her face. Myles quietly approached until he was right next to her, but she looked back to the stage, not noticing him. He cast a glance skyward himself and was about to mention it looked a little different when the Mayor finished her speech.

"…Princess Celestia!" the Mayor stepped aside, a fanfare played and another pony pulled a rope to reveal an empty balcony. There were murmurs of shock throughout the crowd.

"This can't be good," Twilight remarked in worry.

"Remain calm, everypony," the Mayor implored the crowd, "there must be a reasonable explanation."

"Oh! OH! I love guessing games! Is she hiding?" Pinkie popped up on the other side of Twilight, hopping up and down with joy.

"She's gone!" announced the pony at the curtain, making the crowd gasp.

"She's good…" said Pinkie in excitement.

"Sorry Pinkie," Myles spoke up, causing Twilight to gasp as they both turned in his direction, "Princess Celestia may enjoy the occasional joke, but she tends to save them for after official ceremonies, not during."

"Hey, you made it!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight had her eyes fixed on the balcony when she spoke,

"So did she."

They all turned to the balcony to see a dark alicorn with a sheet of night sky instead of a mane.

"Oh, my beloved subjects," she spoke with a mischievous grin, "it's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces."  
"What'd you do with our Princess?" a rainbow maned pegasus shouted, springing up to attack the alicorn, she was held down by Applejack. "Woah there, nelly!"

The alicorn laughed, "Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

"OOH! OOH! More guessing games! Ummm…" Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin and thought, "Hokey smokes? How bout…. Queen Meanie? No. Black Snooty! BLACK SNOOTY! Th-" She was cut off as Applejack shoved a cupcake in her mouth.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the sign?"

"I did," Twilight spoke up, "and I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon." The crowd gasped again.

"Well, well, well," the alicorn mused, "Somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here?"

"You're here to- to-" Twilight stuttered nervously, which made the alicorn chuckle sinsterly.

"Remember this day, my little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night… will last… FOREVER!" She proclaimed with maniacal laughter as lightning struck the ceiling.

Myles could only stare. It wasn't exactly the ideal start to his first day off.

**Couple things before you comment. Twilight states here that crystals are extremely hard to enchant, and that no one thought it possible. Before you go bringing up the Crystal Empire, that's part of the point, those ponies have been gone nearly 1000 years and when Celestia mentions them to her in season 3 (why do I know this? Ugh, I shame myself), Twilight says she never read anything about the Crystal Empire. I wanted to keep that part accurate at least, but assuming enchanting crystals was something ponies in the crystal empire did primarily, it would make sense that most of the techniques for doing so would vanish along with them. But Twilight can't know that because she never read about them. Honestly that part is hardest for me to believe. All she did prior to Ponyville was read and she had access to the castle, there are no books in there that even MENTION the crystal empire? But it's in the show, so in it stays. Which isn't to say I won't change some things, but rather than write in numerous references to the crystal empire before it's time, I think I'll keep her ignorance instead, thanks. **

**Myles is spelled with a "y" for a reason that will be revealed later, despite it not being all that impressive or important. It is not spelled that way because poor literacy is kewl. **

**I'll add the second episode later, if anyone actually wants to continue reading this and lets me know. I'll probably still write more of this, but depending on how much I get chewed out for this I may or may not post it here.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	2. Book 1- Ch 2

**Well, I've started this and at the very least I should finish the opening story arc, feedback or not. I've been kind of going back and forth on how this should actually go down. The way I imagined it and the way it's ended up when I typed it out have already changed it considerably, and now I'm almost compelled to continue just to see what I actually end up with. I'm not sure if it's just the process of putting it into a narrative that's doing it or wanting to keep things interesting for potential readers, maybe both. I don't own, My Little Pony (do I have to say that every chapter? I've seen some authors say you do and some authors who don't and the latter's stories don't get taken down. Better safe than sorry I guess)**

Friendship is Magic Pt. 2  or Between A Pile of Crystals and a Hard Place 

More lightning struck as the alicorn continued in her crazed mirth. The Mayor finally seemed to regain her composure.

"Seize her!" she shouted, pointing a hoof towards the offending pony, "Only she knows where the princess is!" Several of the Princess royal guard flew at the balcony to challenge Nightmare Moon. Myles briefly wondered where they had been when the Princess had disappeared, but quickly refocused on the spell he was trying to cast. If he could pin her down somehow… His horn sparked and the magic flickered. "Really?! Now?" He asked his own horn incredulously.

"Stand back you foals!" Nightmare mocked the guard as lightning and magical smoke knocked the guards to the ground, then proceeding to wrap itself around her. It shrank and flew over the crowd, who quickly scattered. Myles ducked as the smoke passed by and looked over his shoulder as the doors flung themselves open and let the smoke slither outside.

Myles set off towards his house at a quick gallop. "One day off. After this long I would have been fine with ONE DAY, but no…" he could be heard mumbling. Arriving at home, he went over to a large trunk against the back wall and flipped it open. He levitated his saddlebag over and dumped the apples out on the floor before placing it in front of the trunk. Any other day, he'd have been at a loss for what to do in this situation. Today he looked down into the trunk and couldn't resist a grin.

Crystals filled the trunk. They were varied in size, color, composition and purity and weren't organized in any particular manner, but there a couple thousand in the trunk. All kept in reserve or tossed aside after failed analysis or experimentation that actually left them intact. He usually avoided looking at them. The trunk was once a reminder of his shame.

As of today, it was his armory.

He couldn't rely on his own magic too much, he'd learned that long ago, it was weak and prone to failure at the worst times. But this no longer concerned the unicorn scooping handfuls of crystals into his saddle bag. Now he could keep spells ready or even trigger many of them at once from different locations. And possibly bypass relying on his horn at all. Using a crystal to levitate the saddle bag and then walking under it, he reeled under the weight of the crystals he'd packed, but with a grunt he stood back up and headed for the door. He was stopped when he heard a small familiar tone.

Looking down at his bracer, the crystal glowed briefly before he activated it with his magic, the fishbowl projection coming up once more. It was almost entirely blue, but there was a spot a few meters away that had a fading red glow to it in a shape he couldn't identify. He ran outside and checked the spot in question, expecting to have to fight a creature before he set off after Nightmare Moon, but found nothing. More nothing than he expected, usually the Everfree forest rung with the chattering and chirping of small animals, birds and insects. Tonight, the forest was in absolute silence.

Myles tapped the crystal on his arm a few times. It hummed a bit in protest. As far as he could tell, the system was working properly, meaning something passed through the detection barrier. Yet when he looked around, there was nothing attacking the town. There weren't even any groups of small animals that could have flown through together.

His puzzlement was interrupted by a shout of "Whee! Let's go!" from behind.

"Not so fast," said another voice, "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own." Myles recognized Twilight Sparkle as she and five other ponies approached the edge of the woods.

"No can do, sugarcube," Applejack insisted, "We sure aint letting any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone." Twilight cringed behind her back, seeming to show concern over her mention of the word friend. "We're sticking to you like caramel on a candy apple."

"Especially if there's candy apples in there," Pinkie Pie piped up, "What? Those things are good!" The group were all walking towards the forest but finally stopped when they saw Myles standing in their way.

"Where are you going?"

"What's it to you? You gonna stop us, little pony?" the rainbow maned pegasus from earlier challenged him, getting right in his face.

Myles thought about this for a moment.

"Nah, feel free to go where you please," he said casually walking by her, "Just don't come crying to me when whatever just came out of there eats you before you get ten steps in." Myles laughed a bit but then stopped, suddenly raising his hoof and bringing up the display of the barrier again, then walking through said barrier himself. He took note of the red glow on the projection and face-hooved. "Idiot."

"What did you call me?" The pegasus got up in his face again.

"Not you," Myles said, pushing her face back with a hoof, "Me. I put up a perimeter to let me know when something passes through, but nothing to indicate which direction it was travelling."

"So if there's nothing out here with us…" started Applejack.

Myles nodded, "Then something just went in."

"Nightmare Moons must know where the elements are!" Twilight stated, "C'mon we've got to find them before she does!"

"Elements?" Myles asked.

"The Elements of Harmony," Twilight explained, "powerful magic that… oh just come on, I'll explain on the way."

Twilight gave an abridged explanation about the elements of harmony, of which there were seven total, that evidently had the power to defeat Nightmare Moon, seeing as they had been responsible for her imprisonment in the first place. Their destination was an old palace that belonged to the Princesses, which came as a shock to Myles, who hadn't seen anything of the kind before.

"So," Twilight began nervously, "None of you have been in here before?"

"Oh," replied the pony Myles had seen open the curtain at the ceremony, "just look at it, it's dreadful!" Her overly proper tone made Myles roll his eyes.

"And it aint natural," Applejack added, Myles looked back and was surprised to see the look of concern as she spoke, he'd never seen Applejack this nervous, "Folks say it don't work the same as Equestria."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Noooooooo pony knooooowwws!" the rainbow pony said in an intentionally spooky voice. "You know why?" She continued, ignoring Applejack's protest of "Rainbow, quit it." Myles smirked, of course that was actually her name. "'Cause everypony who's ever come in, has never" she advanced step by step, scaring the other ponies, "come," she crouched, "OUT!" she shouted as she hovered above the ground and the others recoiled in terror.

"I was in here yesterday," Myles spoke up, the girls stared aghast at him, even Rainbow seemed shocked, "its disorganized and chaotic yeah, but it's perfectly safe so long as you are carefu-" he was cut off as the ground beneath him and the girls crumbled and slid into the adjacent ravine. He heard the others shout as they slid down the embankment next to him. They grabbed various outcroppings and branches to bring themselves to a stop, but he and Twilight slid to a ledge at the bottom of the embankment. Twilight managed to grab the ledge but Myles went over the side. He floated a crystal out of his saddlebag and quickly jammed it into the cliff wall, then grabbed it with a magical tether from his horn, wincing as he came to a stop with his entire body weight held up by the protrusion from his head. He heard Applejack and Twilight speaking above him, Twilight becoming increasingly more distressed. Applejack looked over the edge and saw Myles and then spoke to Twilight, who seemed to protest some more before letting suddenly letting go of the ledge and screaming as she fell. Myles eyes widened in shock and he kicked away from the wall to swing himself to intercept Twilight, catching her with his front hooves as she fell and skidding to a stop against the cliff face with his back hooves. Twilight looked at Myles and then gave a sigh of relief. The both heard a sparking sound from above as Myles' horn flickered.

"No-!" was all Myles managed to say before they were both falling again, but once again they stopped as two pegusai caught him and he managed to hold onto Twilight. They fell again briefly as the winged ponies struggled with their combined weight, not to mention the weight of Myles crystal collection, but they regained control and brought them gently to the ground. "Sorry girls, I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny or two." Myles caught his breath on the ground and Applejack leapt from rock to rock to land in front of him.

"What the hay was that Myles? Why'd you let go? I thought you'd done this sorta thing before!"

"Only on my own," Myles shot back indignantly, "and never relying on magic."

"But you're a unicorn!" Rainbow pointed out.

"Thanks," Myles sighed, "I hadn't noticed."

Twilight remembered her meeting with Myles earlier and tried to interrupt the coming argument, "… Rainbow…"

"You protect the town though!" Applejack interjected, "And I've seen you use magic before, why-"

"Because it doesn't always WORK!" Myles shouted. Applejack stepped back and the others simply stared.

"But-" the white unicorn began. Myles turned around and began walking into the woods again. Twilight followed him in and the others followed a short distance away. "Myles-" she began.

"I'm not particularly gifted with strength of magic to begin with and on top of that it likes to cut out in the middle of a spell if I cast it for too long, if I keep to short little spells everything's fine, but even so," he remarked "it's not a risk I like to take."

"Myles-" Applejack tried to interject.

"So if you want somepony reliable you bet on the wrong horse."

"Myles-"

"It's just an expression-"

"MYLES!"

"WHAT?!" he spun around, his nostrils flaring in annoyance.

"I just wanted to thank you," stated Twilight.

"And I just wanted to say sorry," Applejack added.

Myles hung his head and turned again, "Right…. Sorry about that."

"We don't think any le-" The white coated one placed a hoof on his shoulder, which he shook off violently.

"C'mon we're wasting time." Myles put in.

"Will you stop and just let people talk? Rarity's just trying to help!" Twilight protested, "Honestly, it's a wonder the Princess ever gave you a job with how rude you-"

"Quiet," Myles interrupted, looking around in worry.

"Now see here," Rarity started indignantly, "You will learn some respec-"

"Shut it!" yelled Myles raising his ear as he heard a familiar growl. "No…"

"What are you-" Rarity started before he pushed her forwards, she rounded on him for a reprimand just as the rocky bank next to him exploded outwards and covered the area in dust. Coughing, the girls looked up as the dust cleared to see a very large and irate manticore.

"RUN!" Myles shouted from where he'd landed on the ground, kicking a rock off of his flank and rolling to the side as the monster brought a large claw down on the space where he had previously been stuck. It quickly brought its other claw down on top of Myles chest, pinning him to the ground. "MYLES!" the girls shouted.

"Just go," he said, struggling underneath the creature and looking around for his saddle bag, which had come off during the initial attack, "I'll keep him busy."

"Wait…"

"Are you insane?!" Twilight shouted while the creature leaned its head down towards Myles, roaring in his face and revealing several long gashes along its face and side. The girls were too stunned to move.

"You know," Myles mocked as he wheezed under the creatures weight, smirking as he spotted his saddle bag behind the creature, some of the crystals having spilled out on the ground, his horn glowed a light grayish-blue, "I'm starting to take this personally. Most of the other beasts settle down after one tango, but you just keep coming back…" A pair of crystals began to hum.

"Wait."

"...for MORE!" Myles finished, as the two crystals tethered to each other and flung towards the beast's legs, wrapping them up and dragging them out from under him. At the same time, Myles placed his hooves on the creatures paw and pushed it up and away from himself and Rainbow chose that moment to fly up and kick the creature's face with her back legs. With only one leg to stand on and heavily unbalanced, the beast began to fall to the ground. Myles rolled away again and had just started to push himself to his hooves when the creature hit the ground causing the ground to shake. Myles steadied himself for a moment and then lifted a hoof to keep moving when the creature's tail whipped around and plowed into the ground right next to him. He cried out in pain as the impact flung him against the wall.

"Wait!"

Both the manticore and Myles scrabbled to their feet, preparing for another round.

"WAAAIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Fluttershy shouted, bringing everypony to a halt. She approached the manticore and gently nuzzled it's paw, showing she meant no harm. "Hey there, big guy, it's okay…" she said soothingly, the creature looked puzzled, then leaned closer and turned its head, revealing a large thorn lodged in one of the fresh gashes along its side. "Now this might hurt for juuuust a second," she plucked the thorn out, causing the creature to roar in pain.

"Fluttershy!" everypony shouted, expecting the creature to strike. Instead it purred and licked Fluttershy's mane.

"There, there," she crooned, "you're just a big fluffy softie aren't you?" After a few more licks, it released Fluttershy, who followed the others past the manticore. Myles was behind picking up his saddle bag and putting it back on, as the creature passed him, it gave a wicked snarl, but Fluttershy said, "Ah ah ah, none of that, he won't hurt you anymore." The monster kept an eye on Myles as it passed, only looking away when it got to a wide enough spot in the ravine to take off. Myles grunted and winced as he hefted his saddle bag, pausing next to Fluttershy, "Thanks," he mumbled.

Twilight watched him pass with a frown as she turned to Fluttershy, "How did you know about the thorn?"

"I didn't," Fluttershy answered confidently, "Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness."

Twilight smiled and joined Fluttershy as they caught up with the others, soon coming to a slope that lead out of the ravine.

"Uuuuugh," Rarity shook, "My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck!" Myles rolled his eyes as she complained about Everfree forest's bog. Then he looked forward in surprise as everything around him seemed to grow dark.

"Well I didn't mean that literally." Rarity finished apprehensively.

"That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it!" Twilight worried out loud. The rest of the girls began uttering apologies and squeaks of fright as they stumbled into each other in the dark. Myles merely kept walking and readjusted his saddle bag, using one of the crystals poking into the side to scratch something on his belly near his rear flank. After a brief sigh of relief, he was startled by a shriek from Fluttershy.

"It's just mud," Applejack said calmly as she turned and then leapt back in fear from the tree in front of her, which appeared to have a maw of sharp teeth attempting to consume her. The girls began to scream in fright as they looked around and found every tree around them had a similar deformation, some including eyes that clearly held ill-intent. Myles prepared to fight, despite not seeing any obvious weakness or method of their attack. A crystal in his pack hummed as he charged it and lifted it out, but the sound was drowned out by Pinkie Pie's laughter. Everypony turned to see her making goofy faces at one of the trees.

"Pinkie!" Twilight cried, "What are you doing? Run!"

Myles could swear he heard light strumming of a stringed instrument before Pinkie replied in song. "Oh girls, don't you see?"

_"__When I was a little philly and the sun was going doooooooownn."_

"Tell me she's not," Twilight said in disbelief.

_"__the darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frooooooooownn."_

"She is," Rarity confirmed.

"Yeah," Myles put in, "I'd get used to this if I were you."

_"__I'd hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw_

_But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at alllll!"_

"Then what is?" Rainbow wondered out loud.

_"__She said, 'Piiinkie, ya gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fears!_

_You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh and make them disappeaaaar!"_

Pinkie's dancing had brought her to the base of one of the menacing trees, to which she turned and gave a deliberate "Ha. Ha. HA!" which inexplicably caused the tree's expression to vanish in a puff of smoke, replaced by normal bark one would expect. The girls gasped and Myles' eyebrow twitched in disbelief.

_"__Soooooo- giggle at the ghostly! _One of the girls laughed, causing a tree to return to normal.

_Guffaw at the grossly! _Another girl joined in, reverting more trees.

_Crack-up at the creepy! _And another.

_Whoop-it-up with the weepy! _And another.

_Chortle at the goofy! _ As the rest of the girls joined

_Snortle at the spooky! _More and more trees cleared up with a puff of smoke.

_And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if it thinks it can scare you then it's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna… ahahahhahaha! _Myles began chuckling at Pinkie's accelerating lyrics.

_LAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"_

All of them fell to the ground, overcome with laughter. When they finally relaxed enough to walk again, all the trees looked as normal as they had previously. Pinkie Pie lead the way forward, hopping and giggling along until she abruptly halted in front of a river with a swift current.

From around the bend in the river, they heard echoing cries of discomfort. The girls headed in that direction, but Myles winced and stopped abruptly.

"You okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah heheh," Myles replied, "I just remembered something funny and my side still hurts from laughing so much. You go ahead, I'll catch up." Applejack smiled and turned around as he tried to speak through suppressed laughter. As soon as she cleared the trees and was out of sight, Myles winced again and let his saddle bag slide off his back as he examined the large gash on his side. It had stopped bleeding a while ago, but it still stung and itched. On closer examination, Myles spotted a few discolored veins highlighted through his coat in the area around the wound, ranging from light green to a sickly yellow.

"Couldn't resist giving me a parting gift, could you?" Myles muttered back the way they came, not that the manticore would be able to hear him. He leaned his side up to the churning rapids, allowing the water to splash over his wound. He released a sigh as the wound cooled and ceased itching and the water suddenly stopped churning and settled to a calm stream. He hefted his saddle bag back on and walked through the trees after the girls. Seeing a large serpentine creature, he ran up ready to fight, but skidding to a stop as it coiled itself through the water, forming platforms across the stream and saying "Alllllow me." Applejack turned to see Myles standing there puzzled, simply saying "I'll tell ya later," as she began to hop across the makeshift bridge. Myles shrugged and followed.

Through the next patch of trees they came across a canyon. From the front of the group Twilight shouted excitedly. "There it is! The ruin that holds the elements of Harmony! We made it!" She ran ahead, "Twilight!" Applejack called as they tried to catch her before she reached the bridge "We're almost there!" Twilight called back before slipping forwards into the space where the bridge used to be. Rainbow dragged her back by the tail before cracking a smile. "What's with you and falling off cliffs today?"

"Now what?" asked Pinkie pie. "Duh." Rainbow said, giving her wings a flap and taking off. "Oh yeah," Pinkie relaxed as Rainbow flew across the gorge to fix the bridge. The other ledge was partially obscured by fog and Twilight heard voices across the gap, "Rainbow! What's taking so long?" she called out. Then she seemed to spot something, "Oh no, Rainbow!" The fog thickened, "Don't listen to them?"

"Don't listen to who?"

"Somepony was over there with Rainbow Dash! They were three of them keeping her from fixing the bridge."

"We have to-"

The fog cleared as Rainbow flew across the newly repaired bridge. The girls cheered and followed her across as she said "See? I'd never leave my friends hanging!" The bridge shook as Myles crossed with his heavy saddle bag, but he managed to get across without incident and the group made their way into the castle.

Inside, they were greeted by a large plinth with seven orbs, six of them on extensions from the base and the largest situated on the top.

"Woaaaaaah."

"Cmon, Twilight," said Applejack, "isn't this what you've been waitin for?"

"The Elements of Harmony," Twilight said excitedly, "We found them!"

The pegusai brought the outer orbs to the ground.

"Four… five… six… Where's the seventh?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"The book said, when the six are present a spark will cause the seventh element to be revealed." Twilight recited.

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack inquired.

"I'm not sure but I have an idea," Twilight said, "Stand back, I don't know what will happen."

The girls obediently retreated to the outer hall as Applejack instructed quietly, "C'mon now y'all, she needs to concentrate." Myles turned and leaned against the door, determined to see the elements work.

Twilights horn glowed purple but suddenly the magic smoke Myles had seen earlier wrapped around the elements and lifted them up. "Twilight! Look out!" He attempted to warn her as he galloped into the room. "The Elements!" Twilight cried and leapt into the smoke, which had begun rotating like a twister, moments later Myles leapt after her. The rest of the girls had heard the shouts but arrived just in time to see the twister vanish along with Twilight, Myles and the elements.

Twilight coughed as she appeared in another section of the castle, Myles rolled as he landed, his saddle bag coming free and scattering crystals across the floor. Twilight gasped and got ready to charge. Myles looked to see what she was facing down and spotted Nightmare Moon laughing as the elements orbited her. Seeing Twilights action, Nightmare laughed, "You're kidding, right?"

As Twilight charged, Myles struggled to his feet, sharp pains from his side slowing him down. Nightmare Moon matched Twilights charge, but Twilights horn began to glow. Right before they collided, Twilight disappeared in a flash and reappeared in between the elements. She seemed a little disoriented. Myles walked over to place himself in-between Twilight and Nightmare Moon.

"Out of the way, foal." Nightmare growled as Myles heard Twilight muttering behind him about "one spark." Suddenly she formed herself into a twister and flew over Myles, striking the ground next to the elements and causing Twilights spell to backfire, throwing her skidding across the floor.

"NO!" Nightmare Moon cried, as the elements arced magical charge from one to the next. Suddenly, the magic faded away. Nightmare Moon laughed and Twilight gasped, "Where's the seventh element?" Stamping her hooves into the ground, Nightmare Moon shattered the elements and laughed even harder.

"You little foals, thinking you could defeat me? Now you'll never see your princess, or your sun! The night… will last… FOREVER!" Nightmare Moon resumed her laughing as Myles once again stood between her and Twilight.

"…no…" he managed to gasp out between heavy breaths, he was feeling weak, but he stood still as a rock.

Nightmare Moon chuckled, "What was that?"

"No. It won't," Myles coughed, "Forever is a long time. You won't get anything even close to forever. This ends now."

"And who will stop me? You?!" Nightmare Moon chuckled, "You won't last long. The manticore venom running through your veins will make sure you perish without me having to lift a single hoof!" He heard Twilight gasp behind him. "I rule the night and now, the night is unstoppable!"

"Not," he began. Myles's horn glowed bright blue-gray, his voice shook, but he remained standing.

"While," he panted. Twilight heard a humming sound.

"I." The hum built in pitch and Twilight saw the crystals on the floor begin to shake.

"Breathe!" Myles shouted the last word and Twilight placed her head beneath her hooves as the crystals hum built to a fever pitch. Shards of crystal shot in all directions, blinding Nightmare Moon and blasting her backwards off of the platform she was standing on. She let out a scream as a million shards of crystal blasted past her and cut her flanks. Twilight opened her eyes to see Nightmare Moon and Myles panting with exhaustion. Nightmare had countless small cuts, but none of the shards seemed to pierce her middle. Myles shuddered and grunted. Twilight then noticed the layer of floating crystal shards hovering in a shell around her. They ranged from pebble sized to actual dust, but Myles let out a gasp and the shell fell harmlessly to the ground around her.

Twilight heard the other ponies shouting from the stairwell and suddenly she had the answer she'd been looking for. She rose to her hooves and defiantly stared Nightmare Moon down. "You think you can destroy the elements of Harmony just like that?" For the first time, Nightmare Moon looked apprehensive. "Well you're wrong, because the spirits of the elements of Harmony… are right here!" She shouted as the others came to a stop behind her, ready to come to her defense. The shards of the elements of harmony rose into the air, each stone staying together with its other pieces and floating to the ponies who had arrived. "What?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of… Honesty!" One of the elements floated over and orbited Applejack.

"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of …Kindness!" Another element orbited Fluttershy.

"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of… Laughter!" Another element joined Pinkie.

"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of… Generosity!"

"Rainbow Dash, who would not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of… Loyalty!"

"And Myles, who kept fighting when his mind and body tried to hold him back, represents the spirit of… Perseverance!" Myles glanced at the element floating around him before returning his irritated gaze to Nightmare Moon.

"The spirits of these six ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!"

"You still don't have the seventh element!" Nightmare reasoned, though her expression betrayed her fear, "the spark didn't work!"

"But it did," Twilight continued "A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you," she turned to each of her friends as she spoke, "to see you! How much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me, when I realized that you all… are my friends!" A light shone from above their heads as the final element manifested at Twilights words.

"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by the… spark… that resides in the heart of us all it creates the seventh element, the element of… magic!" With this, every element reformed and bonded to its bearer, the light emitted from them all brightened and formed a rainbow of magical energy that shot towards Nightmare Moon. Twilight opened her eyes, bathing the chamber in light as they heard Nightmare Moon cry, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Myles opened his eyes and looked behind him, where he saw all his friends safely intact and wearing the reformed elements of Harmony. He glanced down and saw a new bracer formed out of crystal attached to his right front foreleg, it had an emblem of his cutie mark which briefly shone with light. He his legs shake and fell onto his side, wincing with pain as his eyes closed. The crystal shards were all gone, apparently used to form the rest of his element. Despite the pain, he relaxed on the smooth cold stone of the floor. As the world spun he saw his friends run to his side just before everything went black.

"I assure you, Miss Sparkle," a strange voice said, "He will recover, but right now he needs rest!"

Myles groaned and sat up, "I can rest later, doc," he rubbed his side, which had been bandaged up, and turned to Twilight and the others, who were standing in the hall outside his hospital room, "What happened?" Twilight and the others pushed past the doctor, hugging Myles so tightly it aggravated his cut, but not enough to bother him. Myles was more preoccupied with the warm feeling filling his heart as his friends embraced him. When they released him, Twilight smirked and asked "Do you want the long version or the short version?"

Myles leaned back, "Got time for the long version?"

"I should hope so, I live here now." Twilight grinned.

Myles smiled widely and turned to Pinkie Pie, "I missed the party again didn't I." Pinkie Pie nodded a little sadly.

"Don't worry, I'll be at the next one," he turned back to Twilight, "I'll have the long version."

"Promise not to interrupt?" She raised an eyebrow.

He grinned again, "Promise."

**Phew, that took about eight times longer than I thought it would. It also turned out different than when I started, which is awesome. I like it when ideas come as you're writing. It's almost as satisfying as something I planned beforehand. **

**I'm leaving the rating at T for violence at least. I'm not sure if I was a little too descriptive of Myles' wound, so if I get complaints, I'll change it. Initially it was there for the fact that I hadn't yet decided whether or not the adult manticore had survived when I wrote the first episode. However, when watching the second episode over again, I realized I had completely forgotten that manticores have wings, so having it perish by going over a cliff didn't seem right. I briefly toyed with the idea of making it the parent of the baby manticore from the episode, but having the baby follow it around didn't make any sense, so I just decided to make the fully grown one the only one. And yes I skipped Rarity's act of kindness, because I had just typed out Pinkie Pie's song and didn't want to get bogged down in dialogue again. Besides, Myles had other problems that needed addressing. I also made him detonate most of his crystal collection, which wasn't part of the plan when I started. Ah well. I'll address that when it comes up. This is fun so far, but after this chapter I'm gonna start spreading the work out so I'm not spending all afternoon typing an episode.**

**Hopefully I actually do get a response this time, if not, eh, I guess I just added something no one will enjoy to the internet. Ugh. Like when I started that YouTube channel, or that other thing, or that other thing.**

**Gonna wrap this up before I make myself sad.**

**-Dr Spacewizard Esq.**


	3. Book 1- Ch 3

**New chapter, away!**

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

The Ticket Master or Reflection of Disappointment

"The venom has been completely eliminated from your system and the wound itself will heal within the next couple of days so long as you leave it alone."

"Anything else I need to know?" Myles asked the doctor casually.

"Yes," the doctor narrowed his eye at him, "next time you get poisoned, and in your line of work there WILL BE a next time, seek medical attention immediately and do not, under any circumstances, fight long imprisoned evils whilst carrying your weight in rocks."

"Crystals," Myles corrected then smirked, "What about slightly old evils? Like a couple hundred years at most and maybe carrying a few things, but nothing too extreme."

"This is no laughing matter, Mr. Sharsold."

"Shardsole," Myles corrected.

"Right," The doctor rolled his eyes, "My point is, you exacerbated an already dangerous condition by exerting yourself both physically and magically. Overexerting yourself to the degree that you had is dangerous without a dose of manticore venom, you're lucky to be alive."

"I'm sure," Myles frowned, "How'd I exert myself magically? I barely used any magic."

"Ms. Twilight seems to disagree. As do the numerous small lacerations on your flanks. If what I've heard is true, you detonated a couple of hundred crystals simultaneously and also used magic to shield two others at the same time."

"It doesn't take much to make the crystals explode, doc."

"That may be, but with that many and you casting shields in two separate locations, well that would overexert most unicorns. It's not safe to use that much magic that fast."

"Can't use it slow, doc," Myles scowled and tapped his horn, "Horn gives out if I take too long."

"Yes, I've been informed of your preexisting… condition and frankly that makes my warning all the more important, you've never used magic of that magnitude before and it's my medical opinion that you never should again, for you own safety of course. Do you understand?"

"Yeah yeah, I get it."

"Myles, this is very important, this could mean your life someday. I need to hear that you aren't going to be purposefully endangering yourself."

"No promises, doc," Myles smirked as he pushed open the front doors of the hospital and galloped back home.

Myles tapped the crystal strapped to his arm, bringing up the image of the Everfree forest's perimeter, then stuck a hoof through the barrier and looked down to see the hoof represented on the image. Satisfied that the system was still working, he returned home. He took a look around and frowned. Trotting over to his trunk, he found a few loose crystals at the bottom. He'd wanted to start testing out new spell combinations right away, but he'd expended almost all of his supply on Nightmare Moon. He briefly considered writing to Princess Luna, who Twilight had informed him had recovered and reformed after being hit with the elements of Harmony, but considering what he'd done with the last bunch, he had a feeling that asking either Princess for a replacement supply would be awkward. On the other hoof, he also had no idea how he would acquire more crystals. He'd have to make do with what he had for now.

Perhaps if he used the same harmonic resonance that he had to make the perimeter crystals communicate with the one on his arm to link some of them together, he could make them do more complicated work and use less of them in the long run. It was a sound theory, but he needed crystals to test it on, which brings him back to his original problem.

The Mayor had apologized for her previous rudeness and even paid him a moderate bonus for his part in stopping Nightmare Moon and setting up an early warning system around the Everfree forest. However, it still wasn't enough to cover the cost of buying a trunkful of crystals, even if he picked them up himself. The only workable solution at the moment was finding a local supply, he decided to visit the girls in town and ask if they knew of one. Twilight hadn't lived here long, but she lived in the library and spent most of her time reading, she may have come across a record of somepony finding crystals around here. The others had lived here long enough he thought they might've stumbled across some themselves.

He put on his saddlebag, making sure it covered the bandaged area around his middle, then set off for the library, figuring a historical record would be more reliable. As he passed through the center of town, he heard a bit of a commotion one street over and decided to see what it was. Myles was still unused to his newfound freedom and hadn't had much time to exercise it during his recovery. Technically he was on call at all times, but so long as he stayed in town he was only a short gallop away from responding to any emergencies, so visiting his new friends was actually a possibility. Friends, the word still seemed out of place to him. Sure he'd known ponies such as Applejack and Pinkie Pie for almost a year now, but until recently they were just ponies he interacted with when he needed something or because he couldn't avoid it. The fact that they now greeted him warmly and tried to include him in their social lives still unnerved him, but at the same time it felt nice to know others cared about him outside his capacity to protect the town. It was a feeling he hadn't had in years and on the last occasions he remembered it only led to the painful experiences that made him avoid ponies today, but he had a hope, however small, that things would be different this time. Of course, he reminded himself that on all previous occasions he had also held out hope only to have it backfire on him. Myles shook his head and made his way over to the next street.

At the center of the commotion was Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle and while Myles thought the first's inclusion was a given, the second's involvement piqued his curiosity. Pinkie was singing and dancing for reasons only known to her, but stopped as Myles approached and heard her say, "Oh thank you Twilight! It's the most wonderfullest gift ever!"

Twilight appeared to be heavily debating how to reply and only managed to get as far as "Um, actually…" before a gasp caught the three's attention.

"Are these what I think they are?" Rarity asked with a hopeful smile.

"Uh-"

"Yes. Yes! YES!" Pinkie Pie spoke up, "Twilight's taking me to the Grand Galloping Gala at Canterlot." Myles raised an eyebrow, not sure how to react to this. Twilight and Pinkie going to the gala together? Something seemed off about this and he had a feeling Twilight hadn't had much say in the matter, if her expression was any indication. He was about to speak up when Rarity replied.

"The gala! I design ensembles for the gala every year! But I've never had the opportunity to attend. Ohhhhh, the society, the culture, the glamour," Rarity seemed lost in her own imagination already but continued without waiting for a response, "It's where I truly belong and where I'm destined to meet… HIM!" she ended by lifting her eyes to the sky and looking at some vision only she could see.

"Him!" Pinkie repeated excitedly before looking confused, "Who?"

"Him…" Rarity was barely aware of her own surroundings as she launched into another daydream. Myles couldn't resist waving a hoof in front of her eyes to see if she'd notice and suppressing a snicker when she didn't. Pinkie giggled a little but Twilight met his eye with a frown.

Rarity continued, oblivious to everything else, "I would stroll through the gala, everyone would wonder, 'Who is that mysterious mare?' They would never guess, that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville. Why, I would cause such a sensation, that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself! And the Princess would be so taken with the style and elegance, that she would introduce me… to HIM! Her nephew, the most handsome eligible unicorn stallion in Canterlot! Our eyes would meet, our hearts would melt, our courtship would be maaaaaaaagnificent! He would ask for my hoof in marriage and of course I'd say, 'YES!' We would have a royal wedding, befitting a princess, which is a-hmmm, what I would become upon marrying him!" Myles now had both his front hooves covering his mouth to prevent any sound from escaping at this point. "The stallion of my dreams…"

Rarity seemed to come back to reality and address Twilight directly, missing Myles' presence altogether, "Twilight, I simply cannot believe you would invite Pinkie Pie so she can…party… and then prevent me from meeting my true love! Howwwwww could you? HMPH!" She turned her back to stalk away angrily as Myles and Pinkie finally failed to contain their laughter. She whipped her head around at the sudden noise and glared daggers at the two of them. "What's so funny?!" she asked indignantly.

"I dunno," Pinkie Pie admitted in between giggles, "seeing someone laugh just gets me started too!"

Myles managed to take a deep breath, "AHHhhhhhehheh- hahaha. Hehee. Ohhhh that's the best thing I've heard in years… ha hehe. Heh… heh…" He looked at the others, Twilight meeting him with a grim expression, Rarity looked furious and Pinkie Pie simply smiled back at him until his own smile faded somewhat. "What? You don't honestly think that's going to happen do you? You're just joking… right…?" He asked with increasingly less mirth as two of the three girls glared at him (Pinkie settled for blowing a raspberry and giggling).

Before anyone could speak, a small white rabbit snatched the tickets from Spike's claw, who finally reacted after having watched Rarity's speech with disbelief. "Hey!" The rabbit ignored him and hopped over to Fluttershy, who had been attending to business of her own down the street. Her eye's widened as she spotted the tickets before turning to join the group. Myles took the opportunity to speak with Rarity.

"Rarity," she turned her back to him, but he continued regardless, "Look, I'm sorry, I thought you were joking, it just sounded so… unrealistic…" Rarity shot him a glare, "Not that it can't happen!" He corrected quickly, "I just don't want you to be disappointed if it doesn't happen exactly how you think it will." He finished with a sad look. Rarity looked ready to reply but instead spun to face Twilight when she said "Uhhhh, listen guys, I haven't decided who to give the extra ticket to."

"You haven't?!" Pinkie and Rarity said in hopeful unison.

"Um, excuse me," they heard Fluttershy, barely, from behind them and turned again, "I would just like to ask, I mean, if it would be alright, if you haven't given it to someone else…"

"You?!" Rarity seemed equally as offended as when Myles had laughed at her dream, "You want to go to the gala?!"

"Um, no," Fluttershy whispered, the rabbit tapped his foot on her hoof, "I mean, yes, or actually, kind of, you see, it's not so much the grand galloping gala, as it is the wondrous garden…" Myles shifted uneasily and began to walk away when he felt a tug on his tail, he looked back to see it ringed with a purple glow and looked to see Twilight shaking her head at him. He sighed and sat back, unsure what he was waiting for exactly, only knowing that it would be uncomfortable. "…and pink flamingos!" Fluttershy finished. Twilight began to speak up, but was cut off by Rainbow Dash, who herself was cut off by Applejack. The situation quickly degenerated into an argument between all the girls save Twilight, who merely crouched in the middle with her hooves over her head in distress. With all of the people he had intended to talk to present, Myles realized he wasn't getting answers until this argument was resolved.

"That's ENOUGH!" Myles shouted, silencing everypony but Pinkie Pie, who continued briefly, "And then I said, oatmeal? Are you craz-Oh." She too fell silent and joined the others in staring at him.

"Look, I'm sure you all have very important reasons to want to go to the gala," he made a point of casting what he hoped was an apologetic look at Rarity, who's expression seemed to soften a little, "but it's Twilight's decision, not yours, so shouting at each other isn't helping anypony." Rarity seemed a little disappointed, perhaps she had thought Myles was going to argue on her behalf for a moment.

"He's right girls, there's no use in arguing," Twilight said, Rarity came forward and began, "But Twiligh-" "EH!" Twilight cut her off. "This is my decision, and I'm going to make it on my own, and I certainly can't think straight with all this noise!" Her stomach grumbled loudly. "Not to mention hunger! Now go on, shoo!" The girls grumbled and dejectedly walked off as Twilight added, "And don't worry, I'll figure this out! …somehow…" then she looked up at Myles, anger flaring in her eyes again, "And YOU! How could you laugh at Rarity's dream like that?" Myles immediately stood, preparing to run if necessary before defending himself.

"C'mon Twilight, I had no idea she was serious! You heard her, she's going to show up at the gala and then just instantly fall in love with royalty? It sounds like an old ponytale!"

"So did the Mare in the Moon," Twilight said, "And I suggest you go apologize."

"I already did," Myles objected.

"Well go do it again! I've got thinking to do." She turned to walk away before turning stopping with a frustrated look on her face, "Alright let's hear it."

Myles was confused, "Hear… what exactly?"

"Why do you want the extra ticket, the decision's not going to be any easier, but I can't just leave a friend out of the running."  
"Okay, I know I just got into trouble for this but in all seriousness…" Myles cast a sideways glance at her, "are YOU joking?"

"No," Twilight's eyes narrowed. Myles spoke up again before she could vent her anger on him.

"Okay then, I appreciate the consideration but… how do I put this?" Myles thought for a moment, "I wouldn't go near the gala with a forty foot magical barrier protecting me."

"Hmmph, just like Spike then? Too girly for you?"

Myles was taken aback, "What? No, I…"

Twilight stomped away in anger, muttering under her breath. Myles just shook his head in disbelief and headed for Rarity's shop.

"Rarity," Myles called tentatively as he knocked on her door, hoping he had the right house. He certainly couldn't think of anyone else who'd have those creepy mannequins in their home by choice but the town's dressmaker. He was busy examining the one closest to the window when the mare in question burst through her front door and ran past without a second look. "Rarity!" Myles called, but she ran on, evidently not hearing him. He noticed she wore an umbrella, a choice that perplexed him until he heard a distant crack of thunder and saw a group of pegasai pushing large dark clouds towards the town. He elected to stand beneath the awning over her front door and wait for her to return, since he had no umbrella of his own at home.

Myles spotted her dragging Twilight through the rain and once again tried to get her attention when she blew past him, throwing the door open and pushing Twilight inside, subsequently splashing the water from a nearby puddle into Myles' face before shutting herself inside. "Okay," he admitted to no one in particular, "I probably deserved that." He sat there, frowning and dripping as he heard Rarity create a noisy fuss over Twilight, no doubt in her bid to get the ticket. The rain finally let up and the door opened to reveal Twilight looking frustrated as before, Myles began to raise a hoof to get Rarity's attention when Applejack rolled up with a cart full of food, skidding to a stop in front of Rarity's door with a call of "Did somepony say lunch?" and again splashing the adjacent puddle into Myles' face. Applejack dragged Twilight across the threshold to her cart while Myles spat out the water that got in his mouth when he'd opened it to call Rarity. Applejack and Twilight had a small argument before leaving, Myles ignored it, taking the opportunity to speak with Rarity, who had arrived at the door.

"Oh, are you still here?" She said with a grim look, and attempted to pull the door closed before Myles placed a hoof out to stop it.

"Rarity, I'm sorry okay?"

"So you said," Rarity scoffed, attempting to shut the door, Myles stood his ground, keeping the door open.

"I MEAN it!" Myles pleaded, "Look, I don't want you holding a grudge over this, I'm not used to trying to consider everypony's feelings before I talk."

"Clearly," Rarity crossed her hooves over her chest.

"It just sounded so ridiculous, I thought you weren't serious."

"Yes, clearly to a pony like you, the concept of finding love must seem absolutely ludicrous."

"That's not what I …what?"

"Just because you are too stubborn to believe in anything doesn't mean I have to be."

"That's not even what… what?" Myles looked genuinely confused now as he took his hoof off of the door.

"If you still don't understand, perhaps you should go think about it for a month or so… on your own." She reached for her door.

"Whatever, it's not like the Princess ever talks to anyone at the gala anyways…" Myles turned away.

"How would you know?" Rarity called after him with a scoff.

"The Princess invited me last year," Myles said over his shoulder, "Only time I got to speak with her was when she said hello, then she was too busy greeting everypony else. And everypony else was too stuck up to talk to a washed up student of magic. She said attending would make me feel better, but all it did was make me despise everyone in Canterlot, it was a colossal waste of time." Myles kicked some dirt with his hoof before looking up at Rarity, who stood in her doorway with a look of shock on her face.

"You… you've been to the gala?" She asked, still disbelieving.

"Yeah," Myles got up and walked off as he replied, "Wish I hadn't though. Got my hopes up and then just ended the night miserable anyways." He stopped and cast a nervous glance back to her, "Um… it'll go differently for you though, I'm sure of it, pretty mare like you, I'm sure you'll find someone fantastic and have a lot of fun anyways. Well, goodnight."

Rarity mumbled a soft goodnight, staying frozen to the spot until she left for the library.

Myles went back to his house, giving the perimeter a quick check as he crossed the threshold. He set down his saddlebag and grabbed a towel from the bathroom, drying the remainder of the rainwater off of his mane and bandages and then stopping in front of the trunk with a sigh. He picked out the crystals remaining on the bottom and placed them on his worktable. Myles was able to try a few dozen spell combinations before falling asleep on the table again.

Myles woke with a start as he heard a knock at his door. He glanced at the clock and wondered vaguely who would be here so late. He was still groggy, but woke up a bit more when he opened the door and realized who it was.

"R'rty?" Myles speech came out almost indistinguishable as a word, his jaw still sore from lying sideways on the table. Myles was brought fully awake when Rarity threw her hooves around his neck and hugged him tightly. After a moment of shock, he managed an "Uhhhh…" before Rarity pulled away.

"Myles," she looked concerned with her greeting, as if wondering what was appropriate to say, "I'm…. dreadfully sorry for the way I treated you earlier. I accept your apology and I hope you will accept mine. I had no idea you had attended the gala in the past, but even so, I shouldn't have said… what I said about you, no matter what, it's not ladylike and it's certainly not true. I'm sure this year's gala will go differently for you, you represent an element of Harmony and know how to work crystal magic, you're far more important than those stuck up ponies in Canterlot can ever be. And you may just meet somepony you like there… what am I saying, handsome stallion like yourself, of course you will." She looked at him critically for a moment. "You know, if you smile a bit while you're there. None of this grumpy stuff you have now and certainly not this!" She said, throwing the towel he hadn't realized he was still wearing across his neck back into his house and fluffing up his mane a bit, "There you go. Looks great that way."

Myles stood with his jaw open for a moment before replying, "But Rarity, I didn't get a ticket to this year's gala and even if I did, I'm not sure I'd want to go."

"Well that's just awful… You mean the rest of the girls and I will be there but you won't?" She held out a ticket to him. "Twilight wrote the Princess about her situation," she explained as he examined the ticket, "Told her that if she had to choose between which friends to take, she wouldn't be attending at all. Well the Princess wrote right back asking why she hadn't said sooner, and sent tickets for all of us, even Spike," Rarity giggled to herself. She looked sadder as she turned back to Myles. "You're not going to make us go to such an awful party alone are you?"

Myles sighed, "I suppose not, but don't say I didn't warn you!" He spoke up in mock scolding, causing Rarity to laugh. She hugged him again and they both gave their goodnights. Myles smiled to himself as he placed the ticket underneath his music crystal, which briefly played as he moved it. With those girls there, it certainly wouldn't be as boring as last year's gala.

**Woah. Once again, I started this chapter with some specifics in mind and ended up with something not at all like my idea. Initially I was just going to use this chapter to smooth over some blatant plotholes I left in the second episode. I didn't mean to leave them there either, but when I reviewed the episode the ending didn't really have an opening for Myles to talk one on one with anyone present. The Princess has to reconcile with Luna and decree that Twilight stays in Ponyville, as well as explain that she knew all along about Nightmare Moon's impending return. There wasn't really a place for Myles to be there where he wouldn't interrupt and bring up a HEAPLOAD of exposition at the end of the story, and that story had already turned out longer than I expected. Looking back at this one, I still haven't addressed the plotholes much (Myles' sudden ability to use heavy amounts of magic notwithstanding) but I will get to them sometime. For now, I like how this turned out, where I went from loosely tying his problems into the episodes plot to making him a larger part of it, without having to retype a whole lot of the dialogue from this episode. I'm still a bit tired of that from the first episode, but since I'll be trying to pace myself better starting with this episode, I'll probably be able to make Myles part of the main plot in the future.**

**Then again, when I started typing this chapter, Myles wasn't going to be able to remember Rarity's name and was going to ignore her as much as possible. Look how that turned out. Hope I didn't shoot myself in the foot for the actual episode of the gala, still, only Rarity knows about Myles experience there so far and it definitely won't stop her from being stupid around Prince Blueblood. And then Prince Blueblood will never be mentioned again. Maybe seen in the background, I'm not sure, but acknowledged as actually being royalty? Pfft, nope. I'm thinking either the princess shipped him somewhere where he couldn't bother anyone or Queen Chrysalis stashed him in the caves below Canterlot and everyone else just … forgot to look for him. Almost feel sorry for him. **

**I'll get those plotholes filled as best I can though. I'm still trying to figure out how much to say, since I'm planning on saving a lot of things for the return of the Crystal Empire, obviously. Still, I don't want that episode to be all exposition either, so I'll have to get some of the ground rules said out loud before then. I do have a specific way for crystal magic to work outlined in my mind, it's getting it all out there while still keeping the story fun that troubles me.**

**-Dr Spacewizard Esq.**


	4. Book 1- Ch 4

**HA! Another chapter! Didn't see that one coming did you?**

**Hope you aren't expecting those explanations I promised this chapter, sadly there isn't much opportunity for those subjects to come up in this story. Then again, who knows these never turn out the way I expect. On the other hand, there's not much incentive to fill out my plot when I can't even tell if anyone's enjoying this. If this keeps up, I may just write out the first season and post it whenever it's done, which would be sometime next year.**

**Still don't own My Little Pony.**

Applebuck Season or Hidden Stone

Myles wasn't exactly certain where he was. From observation only two things could be determined. First, his surroundings were comprised almost entirely of crystal and second, they were all humming as if they were filled with magic. Each had its own pitch and pulse, thrumming to a beat that could be heard by no one. The effect was similar to hearing an orchestra warm up, each practicing a part clearly meant to be played in harmony with the others, but starting at different times and none of them synchronized with the others at the moment.

If he listened, Myles could hear the melodies of each and their individual beauty. Taken as a whole, the chorus of magical sound was irritating on more than one level. Myles shook his head in frustration, he couldn't begin to think of a way to fix the problem or fathom its purpose even if he wanted to. At the moment he was more concerned with how he got here and more importantly answering his first question. With no answer forthcoming, he voiced his concern out loud.

"Where am I?" he asked, still wincing from the noise.

"We know not where this is supposed to be, only that, in the physical sense, you are not actually here."

Myles spun around to face the voice, which didn't seem to have trouble making itself heard over the din of the crystals. His horn lit up and he lowered into a fighting stance as he prepared to fight the familiar looking alicorn with a dark blue coat and night sky instead of a mane. The mare in question raised her hoof.

"Stay your magic, Myles Shardsole," she replied quickly, "we've tasted it's sting before and we do not wish to again."

"What do you want, Nightmare?" Myles shouted, grinding his hooves against the crystal beneath him. The alicorn looked shocked for a moment, then smiled.

"Calm yourself," she pleaded, "We have changed, as we had thought you were informed. But we had forgotten that you had not seen us afterwards. You know us only as Nightmare Moon and given your strange surroundings, you are right to be suspicious, but we assure you no harm will come to you. We are now the Princess Luna, as we were a long time ago. You are dreaming," she smiled a bit, "except where I am concerned."

"So what you are saying is everything here is my dream but you are somehow here for real? Care to explain why? Or how?"

Luna smiled gently, "Twilight and my sister were correct, you are deceptively bright despite how you act."

Myles thought about this for a few moments, "Ummmm… thanks?"

Luna laughed, not the harsh maniacal cackle of Nightmare Moon, but a gentle chortle of royalty. Myles finally sat back on his haunches to hear her out.

"As Princess of the Night, we watch over everything that takes place in our domain, including the dreams of ponies as they sleep. It is our right and also our responsibility." She intoned sadly.

"Wait," Myles cocked an eyebrow, "I thought you became Nightmare Moon because you were upset that your subjects slept through the night, if you could just visit their dreams, what was the big deal?"

She frowned slightly, "As we said, it is also our responsibility. We watch over their dreams at night. They are not always aware of this and many cannot be convinced that we are not part of the dream as well. It can become tiresome, to say the least."

Myles looked a little ashamed for bringing it up, "Sorry."

She smiled once more, "It is not a problem," her face grew serious once more, "In fact we could say we deserved more, which is, in part at least, why we are here. When we were freed from our own corruption in the form of Nightmare Moon, we had the chance to meet your friends, the other elements of Harmony, as well as reconcile our argument with our sister. You, however, were still recovering, and we thought visiting your dreams in that state would be…" she smiled nervously, "…unwise. Besides, we had our own wounds to recover from, though much less severe."

"Huh," Myles grinned, "You're right in one part, I probably would've attacked you on the spot at the time. As for your injuries, I'm sorr-" Luna held up a hoof to stop him again.

"We will hear no more apologies from you," Luna said firmly, "We are at fault here, you defended your friends and your actions were more than justified, not to mention admirable. Our injuries are healed and the only lasting mark is here," she turned to show him a scar above her cutie mark on her left flank. Myles realized for the first time he was speaking to royalty, worse yet, he had marked her forever. "I'm-"

"SILENCE!" Luna shouted with unnatural volume, causing Myles to tense again, "We are sorry, but as we said, we will hear no more apologies from you," she trotted over and place a hoof gently on his head, "we will wear the mark with humility, as a constant reminder of the time we let our selfish desire overcome our compassion for our subjects and a further reminder that even an alicorn is not truly all-powerful." She sat down in front of him as he raised his head again.

"Because of that little scratch?" Myles asked in disbelief.

"There was much more damage at the time and believe us when we say leaving a lasting mark on one such as ourselves is extremely difficult. You were not the first to make such an attempt, nor do we fear, will you be the last. We are told expending such energy as you did would end many unicorns and that you did so despite a lifelong hindrance to your magic as well as while under the effects of manticore venom. You risked the most of all your friends… and we never even got to speak to you. To apologize for the trouble we caused you," her head drooped in sadness, "and to thank you for your more than significant contribution to freeing us." She placed her hooves around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. He could only sit there with his eyes wide in shock until she released him.

"We must attend to our duties. We leave you to finish your dream at your leisure. We only ask that you do not underestimate your own strength, as it may once again prove invaluable to the safety of those around you."

"Why does everypony say that? I'm not strong at al-"

Luna turned away from him, once again displaying the scar on her flank and began to walk away and fade from his sight.

"You were not the first to try and mark us, Shardsole, but you were the first to succeed. Your strength is proven to the world, whether you believe in it yourself or not."

Myles eyes snapped open. He sat up and shook his head. Had any of that been real? Had he really disfigured Princess Luna? He had been getting tired of telling everypony that he didn't have exceptional talent or strength of magic, which was something he had known since he was little, but for the first time he wondered if there was something to what all of them said. He sighed and tried to clear his head of worry as he made himself some breakfast.

He elected to have another try at asking the girls if they knew of any crystal deposits and headed for the middle of town. He stopped when he saw a large see-saw and a diving platform in the town square. His eyes bugged out in shock as he saw Applejack leap from the diving platform and launch what appeared to be a heap of Rainbow Dash skywards. The launch was effective, but the pegasus seemed to never regain control of her flight throughout the arc. Myles galloped over to Applejack, who seemed to be have fallen asleep on the see-saw, and gently prodded her with a hoof.

"Applejack?"

"Huh?" the orange pony seemed disoriented to say the least, but after a time she spotted Myles, "Oh hey Myles, what's goin' on?"

"That's what I was going to ask you." Myles said, gesturing towards the diving board and see-saw with a hoof.

"Oh, this?" Applejack answered groggily, "I was just helping Rainbow Dash practice her fancy flyin tricks." She looked around idly for the pegasus. "Guess she's done, I better get back to buckin'"

"What?"

"It's Applebuck Season! I got a whole orchard to harvest all by my lonesome. But you just hold your horses right now!" she said, looking suspiciously at him, "I already done told Twilight I didn't need any help, so I don't want to hear any of it from y'all." She stalked off in anger at something he hadn't even said. She seemed determined to prove him wrong despite him not having had a chance to express any opinion one way or the other. Myles thought of how stubborn she seemed and realized it was a lost cause. It would be a waste of energy for both of them to spend time arguing over the point.

Myles sighed, on the other hoof, Applejack had always been nice to him even before they became friends and he had long lost track of how much he owed her for those early morning breakfasts he had gotten from her before the market opened so he could go back to watching the forest. There was no doubt in his mind that he owed her a great debt. He thought for a minute or so, leaning against the diving board, then suddenly smiling and taking off at a gallop towards Sweet Apple Acres, silently glad he had brought along what few crystals he still owned.

When he arrived, he discovered a disgruntled Applejack arguing with Twilight Sparkle over the very subject that she had brought up to Myles in town. He kept his distance and went around a hill to stay out of their sight. Applejack was about halfway through the orchard she was working on, but on the other side of the hill there was another that she had completely forgotten about for the moment. Myles resolved to begin here, as the hill would keep his work concealed for the longest possible time and judging by the amount of sleep Applejack seemed to have lost, he would need all the time he could get. Over the past years, Myles had become accustomed to operating on minimal sleep, he would presumably be able to work longer than her, the trouble was it wasn't work he was accustomed to.

He snuck around to the barn and grabbed one of the basket mounts that he'd seen Applejack use to harvest her crops in the past, he took out two crystals and directed his magic towards them, tuning the magic as the crystals emitted a wavering hum. Once he was satisfied, he inserted them in between the threads of the bottom of each basket and set the mount on his back.

As he made his way towards the door, he nearly gasped as they swung open. Myles dove behind a bale of old hay and squashed himself up against it. He could hear Applejack mumbling in anger nearby, "Already got enough work without her interrupting every time. Now I gotta go bake those whosewhatsits with Pinkie Pie and I didn't even get a single bushel of apples collected." Myles held his breath as another basket mount flew over his head and landed behind the bale of hay. He waited until he heard the barn door slam before inhaling in relief. Getting up, he walked around to the barn door and pushed.

It wouldn't open. Evidently no amount of sleep deprivation would prevent Applejack from following her habit of locking the barn up while she was away. Myles scowled, he had wasted enough time sneaking around and he definitely didn't want to have to explain himself to Applejack when she found him locked in. He considered bucking the doors open, but if he did the lock would break and Applejack would likely panic and think she'd been robbed. He thought for a moment before digging through his saddlebag, he had a few crystals left, but from in here he couldn't think of a way to use them without damaging anything. Just as he was about to turn away and search the barn for other options, a point of light inside his bag caught his eye. It was a tiny fragment of crystal that he recognized as the one he'd detonated just prior to meeting Twilight. He smiled fondly at the memory as he dug around in the bag for more fragments, finding four more of similar size. He enchanted them all with a simple levitation spell, but left it deactivated at the moment as he pushed them under the gap between the barn door and the ground.

Listening for their distinct hum by placing his ear against the barn door, he lifted one towards the area where the lock was, halting when he heard a small sound of it impacting metal. He tried several times and got the same response until finally one time the sound of the crystal became tinny and echoed from inside the keyhole. Smiling, he lifted the crystal into the lock until he felt some resistance, then pushed against it until he heard a tiny click. One tumbler down, he activated that crystal's levitation spell to keep it in place. He repeated the process with two of the other crystals and then used the last to push the lock free. Grinning from ear to ear, he pushed the door open gently and stepped outside, carefully collecting his crystals and re-locking the door behind him, he headed off to the field over the hill. On the way, he ducked behind a ridge to hide from Applejack, who was clearly on the way back to the barn.

Approaching the first tree, he listened carefully for any movement nearby, satisfied that Applejack was out of earshot, he turned around and bucked his back legs at it's trunk. He heard a small crack and some bark came free from the tree trunk, a few apples fell but as they did the crystals in his baskets hummed a bit, rolling the apples into the basket as though there were an invisible funnel extending from the tops of each one. He adjusted himself and aimed his second kick higher up at the tree. The entire top shook and about half the apples came down. Myles grinned, this wouldn't be so bad.

Myles continued for several hours, only pausing when he'd filled his baskets and emptying them into the barrels he'd brought out, mirroring Applejack's process he'd observed on the other field. He hid at one point when he heard Applejack arguing with somepony again, likely Twilight, but since they didn't come over the hill, he resumed where he left off. He made his way through about half the orchard before he began to grow tired. The combined exertion of kicking the trees hard enough to drop the apples and carrying the weight of twin baskets filled with them over to where they were stored took its toll on him. The afternoon dragged on and he made his way through about three quarters of the field before finally slumping against the trunk of the tree he was at and dozing off.

Myles thought he heard voices at a distance and wondered vaguely why his bed felt so hard.

"How do you like THEM apples," a deep voice said, then gasped in surprise.

"Wha-huh? Ah haven't touched this field, were you secretly helping, Twilight? Big Mac?"

Presumably they denied involvement, Myles shifted a bit uncomfortably, wondering why this dream was so dull compared to his latest one. He grumbled a bit as he heard hooves approaching, but remained asleep until he was awoken by a shout.

"MYLES!" Applejack yelled angrily, causing the stallion to jump up and stumble back towards the tree, where he smacked the back of his head before falling again. "Were you bucking apples in my field when I told you I didn't need any help!?"

Rubbing the back of his head with a hoof, he was about to answer when Twilight spoke up.

"But you DO need help, Applejack," she said in frustration, "And this time I'm not taking 'No' for an answer"

"Alright…"

"What?"

"I reckon I do need your help after all, I don't think I can finish alone, especially since I only made it this far with Myles' help anyways."

"I wasn't here the whole time Applejack," Myles tried to sound encouraging, "You were almost half done with the other field when I started and I used magic to speed things up. I think you could probably do the whole field yourself if you wanted to."

"Then why'd you help?"

"Because I could see how determined you were to do it and I didn't want you to put yourself in the hospital trying," Myles grinned.

Applejack smiled back and gave Myles a hug, "Thanks for looking out for me, Myles. Myles?" she pushed him away and held him up as he slumped, evidently having fallen asleep on her shoulder. She and Twilight chuckled quietly as Twilight walked away.

"I'll get the rest of the girls to help you finish up, you and Myles rest for now."

Applejack made her way back to the barn and got a blanket for Myles. As she left, she spotted his saddlebag in the corner next to the door and chuckled to herself. "I'll have to watch out for that one, seems he can do just what he wants when he puts his mind to it. Hmm. Sounds familiar." She chuckled to herself again as she brought the saddlebag out and set it next to Myles, then threw the blanket over him and went to greet the girls, who had just arrived to help.

Myles was surrounded by crystals again. He picked out an individual sound and traced it to its source, stopping in front of the crystal and adjusting it with his magic as he listened to the one right next to it. After some work, the two crystals harmonized, complimenting each other's parts of the sound. He glanced around at the room and wondered at what it must sound like when the whole room was tuned. He smirked. Only one way to find out.

**Phew. Okay. There's another one and I really need to stop saying what I'm going to do in these notes because they end up not being true. Opening note I say I'm not going to answer anything with crystals and of course that end up being the first thing in this story. At the very least, Myles reaction to Applejack's plight remained the same. I had thought from the beginning that having him secretly harvesting the other field that Applejack forgot would be amusing, though the encounter in the barn was added on the spot.**

**Still, I will get around to the other stuff I mentioned and also back to making Myles a larger part of each episode, like he was in the opening. The trouble is these episodes are focused on specific ponies that needn't necessarily interact with Myles. I managed to work him in a bit but at the same time I didn't want to stomp all over the original plot. Nor did I want to type out the dialogue if it wasn't going to be any different from the show. Myles will have a bigger part of later episodes, especially those that concern the Everfree forest.**

**If you look at the series from a writing standpoint, the presence of the Everfree forest is clever, as it allows the writers to draw upon an established source for conflict without having to laboriously explain why there are monsters attacking. They're nearby and they're wild animals. So they can use it for starting or moving a plot forward easily, even if the town's proximity to the forest is a bit dubious. The Timberwolves being a part of the Zapp Apple harvest means that Sweet Apple Acres placement makes sense, but the rest of the town could still have been built farther off without making things too inconvenient. From the standpoint of Ponyville being a place where people keep their belongings and raise families, the town's border with Everfree is a bit ridiculous. With how many stories in the series involve something from Everfree invading town not being too numerous, one could probably ignore this. The problem is the town is placed under significant threat each time and it's up to whatever pony is being focused on in that episode to solve things and in later seasons this is often Twilight Sparkle using her considerable magical ability to confront the threat. **

**This is partially what inspired Myles' occupation in town, even though it's a bit unreasonable that he's the only municipally assigned protector of town, it makes more sense to always have someone watching for trouble. Before Twilight arrived, Applejack, Rainbow and Fluttershy would probably be the ones who dealt with invading creatures and that's just if they were around when it happened. I can't really explain who did Myles' job before he arrived, but presumably part of Celestia's incentive to send him to Ponyville would have been as an answer to numerous requests for protection from the town's mayor. That's also why I had her and Myles at each other's throats in the first chapter.**

**How Ponyville survived without half the town getting destroyed every month before Twilight arrived is puzzling to me. I would assume that after so many times of having to rebuild the same house, the construction workers would ask with increasing urgency if you wouldn't mind living somewhere else. Then there's the trouble of paying for all that, insurance would be problematic if it had to cover the cost of a new house each week.**

**Then again, maybe all that did happen. Maybe Filthy Rich runs a slum on the far side of town where he overcharges rent to ponies forced out of their homes due to monster attacks. It'd still be cheaper than paying insurance so he could gouge prices to his liking. Wonder why we never see that part of Ponyville in the show. **

**Probably because that's a little depressing. Anyways, I'm way off topic. Myles has a specific role in Ponyville and believe me when I say that episodes that would involve that role will involve Myles a lot more when I can pull it off. In other cases, I'll try and keep a balance between altering things to fit Myles in or having him absent from certain events to save time and space.**

**Of course, if someone were to insist I do otherwise I might change my mind about that, but for now that's what I'll stick with.**

**-Dr Spacewizard Esq.**

**Oh cool someone did say something. Not much but it's a start. Thanks for giving feedback.**


	5. Book 1- Ch 5

**Well, been wanting to make progress on this but been dreading this episode, oh yeah and there were holidays and family I didn't want looking over my shoulder at the time either.**

**Seriously though, as much as the episode works on its own, I can't really think of a way to make my character relevant without derailing the entire plot. And seeing as I'm not very fond of the episode to begin with, this may be a very short chapter.**

**On the other hand, given the current correlation between my expectations and what I've actually put into this story thus far… well, let's just see where this goes.**

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Griffon the Brush-off or Subtle Resonance

Myles sat before his worktable, focusing on the crystal as it hummed with energy. He held his ear to the crystal at the other end of the table, listening for the telltale sound of magic acting on it. He expected some difficulty tuning the crystals while other active ones were present, but only two were working at the moment, meaning he could consciously tune the other sound out.

He began to hear the faintest ringing coming from the other crystal, signaling they had started to harmonize, when suddenly the crystal strapped to his leg pulsed red and emitted a dull tone. He lifted it to his face and tapped it, bringing up the perimeter detection model. A small red shape was quickly fading from the dome. The shadow revealed it to be pony-sized and winged. Myles headed towards the window to check when the alert crystal went off again, revealing another object of similar size, this one bound to the ground. Judging by how quickly they faded from the perimeter wall, both objects were moving at remarkable speeds.

Making his way outside, Myles arrived just in time to see the trees snap back into their upright position, as though recovering from being hit by strong winds. A pink blur faded into the woods as well. Myles cracked a smile and headed back inside his home, shaking his head. It was Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, he was certain, and thus didn't require his intervention. If creatures existed in the Everfree Forest that could catch either of them, Myles was fairly confident he wouldn't be able to handle them without some serious preparation.

Myles frowned as his alert crystal went off twice in quick succession again and he saw a rainbow and then a pink blur shoot past the opening in his door. Occasionally other ponies made their way in and out of the forest, but usually they let him know and had a good reason. He wondered how many times Rainbow or Pinkie had been around the forest before his warning system was in place. Of course the girls had claimed never to have set foot in there before they dealt with Nightmare Moon, but Myles had a feeling Rainbow likely flew over it several times without realizing it.

He'd have to add some sort of system to recognize situations like this… someday. He was still very low on supply of crystals, despite having finally gotten a chance to speak to his friends about the issue. Rarity had actually let him know about an area nearby where she went to gather gemstones occasionally, but so far he hadn't been able to recover many crystals. There had been a promising looking system of caves beneath the area, but he'd need to make improvements to the perimeter before he could explore that far. He didn't feel right taking any of Rarity's supply of gemstones.

He returned to his worktable and returned his ear to the side of the crystal on his left as he tuned the other.

His eyes shot open as the noise reached his ears. Myles lifted his head from the table, where he had fallen asleep, having finally tuned the crystals into a permanent harmonic connection after a few hours work.

It hadn't been the same as the perimeter system, as those crystals all sent out a signal that had to be assembled and decoded by another crystal. That connection was only one-way, and could be received by anything tuned to the right frequency. He'd even offered to make the Mayor a crystal that would let her see the perimeter as well, but she had declined, now confident that Myles would have handled any such situation before she could rally any help. In a few short weeks, she'd gone from skeptical in Myles capabilities to overconfident. He was still only one pony who only vaguely knew what he was doing, even in crystal magic, which everyone insisted he was an expert in.

Myles found this hard to believe, seeing as he'd spent three hours getting two crystals just to communicate with each other, not even sending useful information along the connection yet. Evidently he'd made a mistake as well, since the crystal he'd fallen asleep next to was now emitting irregular tones at more than one pitch. The frequency was all wrong, he'd been trying to make them fairly quiet so as not to become a nuisance, but the tones he heard now would be audible to anypony within ten feet. Myles lifted his head and his ears twitched about, listening carefully. The tones were not only inconsistent, but appeared to be originating from outside the crystals. While he had considered this application, he was fairly certain he hadn't figured out how it would be possible yet.

He frowned and carefully stalked over to his window. The sounds became more intense as he approached silently so he could monitor the tones. The crystals were emitting the same tones he'd fallen asleep to, which were barely audible. The newer tones became louder as he approached his window. His expression turned to a subtle grin as he leaned on his open windowsill and looked down at the light blue and pink ponies ducked outside. Both were shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Hey guys," Myles greeted them casually, causing Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie to jump in surprise.

"Wha-? Rainbow Dash looked shocked as she addressed Myles, "How'd you figure that out so fast?"

"Told ya it wouldn't work on him," Pinkie said with a wide smile, "he's got Shodslaw-

"Shardsole."

"-Shadros Sense! Myles can hear for miles!" Pinkie giggled, "Hey! I didn't even mean to do that. That's funny!" She escalated into raucous laughter.

"Nice try though," Myles grinned, "a couple of weeks ago when I never got any sleep, that probably would've driven me nuts."

"I knew we shoulda went with the fake manticore attack," Rainbow muttered with frustration. Myles expression suddenly became deadly serious.

"Yeaahhhhh, ummmm…," he remembered the last time he fought a manticore, "no fake attacks on Ponyville, if you did pull it off somepony'd get hurt."

"C'mon, Rainbow," Pinkie spoke up, "Let's prank someone who won't see it coming."

"Yeah okay," Rainbow said disappointedly, "I thought he wouldn't see it coming if we didn't set off his crystal stuff."

"I _did _do this job for several months before Twilight figured out how to make the crystal magic work."

"Twilight?" Rainbow and Pinkie asked in unison. Myles looked confused.

"Yeah," he raised an eyebrow, "She's the one who figured it out."

"Huh," said Rainbow, "The way she tells it you figured it out in seconds based on something you realized on your own and it still didn't exactly make sense to her. Last I heard she's been diving into several books trying to figure out how you do it."

"What?"  
"Yeah," Rainbow placed a hoof to her chin as she recalled the memory, "She said something about it having to do with sound… but then she said that was impossible to do without very sensitive measuring equipment. And that it wasn't really sound but magic that shouldn't work like sound. Also that it was impossible."

Myles leaned on his hooves and smirked, "Impossible, huh?"

Rainbow laughed, "Yeah, I don't think she realized how often she said 'impossible,' it looked like it was really getting on her nerves. Almost didn't prank her. Almost." Rainbow laughed, "See ya round, Myles!" She shouted over her shoulder as she and Pinkie waved goodbye to a thoughtful Myles. He waved distractedly at them as he turned back to his workstation.

A while later, Myles opened the door, answering an excited knocking that could only be one pony.

"Pinkie Pie?" He said as he opened the door to the pony in question.

"Wow! There's no fooling you is there?" Pinkie smiled as Myles rolled his eyes, deciding not to mention that nopony else knocked like foal with a sugar-high on their birthday.

"Whats up, Pinkie?"

"OH! That's right! I came to invite you to a PARTY!" She squealed this last word so loud that Myles winced in pain. "Oops… sorry."

Myles put a hoof to his head, "Its fine," he said, though his ears were still ringing, "I guess I am a little overdue for attending one of your parties, aren't I?"

"You did promise you'd make the next one."

"I did," he admitted, rubbing his ears in an attempt to get the ringing to stop, "What's the occasion?"

"I'm throwing a welcome party for Rainbow's friend, Gilda, to try and cheer her up!"

"Gilda?" Myles furrowed his brow as he thought, "I don't think I've met anypony by that name."

"Oh she's not a pony, she's a griffin."

Myles raised an eyebrow, "So when and where is this party?"

"Right now!" Pinkie shouted, causing Myles to wince again and giving him no time to resist as she grabbed his shoulder and dragged him off towards their destination. He managed to shut the door to his house with his magic. Then he tried to memorize his two newest ideas for crystals, one that shuts the door when you leave the house and one that makes short recordings for saving ideas.

Myles held his head as Pinkie dragged him through the front door of her house. He looked up and resisted the urge to laugh, wondering if Pinkie ever bothered to take down the balloons or streamers decorating the room, since she was always about to host a party of some sort.

His head throbbed in pain again and he placed a hoof to it as he walked to a nearby wall and sat down to wait. "Are you alright?" he heard somepony ask and looked up to see Twilight Sparkle and Rarity walking away from the door, having just been greeted by Pinkie. Myles grimace turned into a half smile, as he looked up.

"Yeah," he rubbed his ear with a hoof as the ringing finally faded, "Just not used to Pinkie Pie's enthusiasm."

Rarity chuckled, "It can be overpowering at times." Twilight merely frowned a bit as she walked over. Her eyes had dark rings underneath them, as though she hadn't been getting much sleep.

"You doing alright, Twilight?" Myles asked, taking his turn to be concerned, "You look like me a month ago." Rarity chuckled but Twilight's expression didn't lighten any. "You know," Myles added nervously, "only purple and much less deranged." Twilight glared daggers at him. "Annnnnd… with very nice hair…? And… eyes…?" Rarity wrapped a hoof around Myles shoulders and led him away quickly.

"I suggest you quit before you manage to fit all four hooves in your mouth, dear." Rarity said with a smile. Myles looked confused.

"What'd I do?"

"Well," Rarity considered as she brought him to another part of the room out of earshot of Twilight, "I realize you were trying to make a joke, but it wasn't the most tactful of things to say, particularly to Twilight. And then you kept making it worse…" Rarity chuckled to herself again. "You are aware that you've already been causing her some distress recently, yes?"

"Is that what it is?" Myles asked with concern, glancing over at Twilight, "Rainbow Dash said she'd been doing some research into crystal magic, but I didn't realize it was bothering her this much."

"You've no idea," Rarity uttered conspiratorially, "Pinkie Pie could barely get her attention when she came to ask for help concerning this Gilda earlier. I don't think she's had a proper rest for the past two days."

Myles frowned in confusion, "Any idea why it matters so much to her?"

Rarity laughed, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Let's just assume it isn't for some of us."

Rarity giggled, "She's jealous," Myles raised an eyebrow in disbelief and Rarity merely laughed again. "She's Princess Celestia's student and an excellent wielder of magic, but you can work a type of magic she can't even figure out!"

Myles looked even more puzzled, "But I explained what I knew to her, which wasn't much, and she's the one who picked out the information I was missing to make the process work!"

Rarity bit her lip to suppress further laughter, after a moment she was able to continue, "Evidently that's only making things worse, she keeps saying the way you explained it doesn't entirely make sense and that she was merely asking you about crystals when you figured it out yourself."

"You think I should talk to her?" Myles asked, leaning around and meeting Twilight's eyes, causing her eyelids to twitch in irritation. Rarity followed his gaze and then turned back to him.

"Perhaps you should just give her some space for now," Rarity whispered nervously. Myles nodded in agreement and then his ears perked up and twitched slightly.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Like a high-pitched buzzing sound…"

Rarity looked a little worried, "Noooooo…. Perhaps you should go lie down a while. Perhaps Pinkie affected you more than you think…"

"No," Myles said slowly, scanning the room for the source of the noise, "This is definitely not my imagination… Hey, Rarity?"

"Yes?"

"Did Pinkie shake your hoof on the way in?"

Rarity followed his gaze towards Pinkie Pie, who had just welcomed a few ponies inside without extending a hoof. "Yes, actually, why do you-?"

Rarity stopped as a large creature with an eagles head and a lion's body walked through the door. "That's Gilda," Rarity whispered. Myles nodded and angled his ears towards the door, following the sound he'd heard.

"Gilda! I'm so honored to throw you one of my signature Pinkie Pie parties! And I really, truly, sincerely hope you feel welcome here amongst us ponyfolk!" She extended a hoof, which Gilda took in her claw before recoiling as though struck. Pinkie giggled and Rainbow soon joined her.

"The old hoofshake buzzer, Pinkie Pie, you are a scream!" Gilda didn't seem pleased as they continued their welcome.

"Thought so," Myles said.

"You knew?" Rarity asked as Twilight approached them.

"Course I did," Myles shook his head, "it's obviously an old buzzer, you can hear it going off a bit when she put it on." Rarity looked at him curiously and he looked nervously from her to Twilight, who was now standing right behind Rarity with an expression Myles couldn't interpret, "… can't you?" He asked nervously. Rarity shook her head and Twilight seized one of his ears in between her front hooves, making him wince in pain as she pulled his head over so she could inspect it.

"OW! HEY! What gives!?" Myles managed to utter.

"Twilight, what's gotten into you!" Rarity sounded as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Where is it?" Twilight demanded.

"What? Where's WHAT?!" Myles desperately asked, still struggling to keep her from pulling his ear off.

"The crystal, or device or whatever it is! Where is it?" Twilight seemed indignant as she lit up her horn, shining the light into Myles ear, then frowning and spinning him around and doing the same for his other ear as Myles winced and released a new string of "ows" as she tugged on his ear. Rarity pushed Twilight's hooves away and forced her away from Myles, but she grabbed the leather-bound crystal off of his hoof and pulled it with her, flipping it upside down and turning it inside out, searching desperately for something she seemed certain was around.

Finding nothing, she dropped it on the ground and attempted to get back to Myles, but was blocked by Rarity. Meanwhile, Myles had sunk to the ground, pressing his front hooves over his ears to dull the pain from having them pulled on so forcefully. His eyes remained shut as the pain slowly faded away. As it did, he was able to just hear Twilight and Rarity's hushed argument a few feet away, he lifted the hoof nearest them, wincing as it twinged with pain again but listening in.

"…absolutely cannot believe you would do such a thing! You were most concerned with Myles health when he was confined to the hospital, but now you attack him and accuse him of… what, exactly?" Myles hadn't known Rarity for long, and was shocked to hear her speaking so harshly to a friend of theirs. He was about to speak up when Twilight actually growled at her in frustration before responding.

"I'm telling you, it doesn't add up! Assuming he's right and the sound emitted by the crystals directly correlates to the quality and flow of the magic they are using, there's no way he can tell the difference unaided! I only heard the difference in the first crystal because it was made to produce sound! The other crystals were silent to the naked ear! He has to be using some sort of amplifier or other measurement tool that tells him the information he's supposedly getting from these crystals!" Myles jaw had dropped and he was no longer hiding the fact that he was listening to them, seeing this she angrily directed her next statements towards him, "I'm right aren't I? You're tricking everypony into thinking you are this amazing genius when it comes to crystals, but you've been making it up? HAVEN'T YOU!?"

Myles was dumbstruck. He had been struggling to find a place to begin to explain everything to Twilight, but she shouted her final question at the top of her lungs only a few feet from Myles, which caused his head to spin in pain. He galloped at top speed for the door, stumbling a bit and bumping into Gilda, who already seemed irate with several things that had happened at the party. Gilda rounded on Myles and roared at him, causing him to actually shout out in pain as he tripped over his own hooves in his scramble towards the exit. He barely registered several other noises as he ran as fast as his hooves would carry him towards his home. When he arrived, Myles threw the door open and collapsed onto his bed, forcing his head beneath the pillow before blacking out.

Myles heard muffled voices close by. He winced again and struggled to remember why his head hurt so badly. He felt something poke his side but the pain in his head kept him from reacting. Suddenly he was being shaken and the pillow was ripped from the bed. He groaned and covered his head with his hooves again, trying to shut out the pounding inside his own ears.

He felt something solid touch his right temple and suddenly the pain reduced to a slight tingling sensation. Groggily, he opened an eye and saw a purple glow right next to his head. He shut his eye to protect from both the brightness and to ignore the feeling of dizziness that overcame him. He still felt terrible, but past the constant ringing he finally managed to pick out some of the words the frantic voices nearby were saying.

"…should take care of the pain, Celestia taught me that herself. I just hope there's no permanent damage."

"He still looks awful! Can't you do anything else to help!?" Rarity cried and Myles resisted the urge to heave up his lunch as the room spun faster.

"You can start by keeping it down…" he groaned.

"MYL-" Twilight began, but stopped when she saw him wince, "Myles. Are you okay?" she whispered as she threw her hooves around him in a tight embrace.

Myles groaned a bit, "I think so. It doesn't hurt anymore at least, so thanks for that. Still feel dizzy though." He relaxed a bit, no longer squinting but still not opening his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Rarity asked quietly. Myles cracked an eyelid to look but immediately regretted it as his head spun.

"Just keep your eyes closed," Twilight said as she pulled back but kept a hoof over his neck, she turned to Rarity and whispered, "He's still disoriented, the overload in volume probably shook up his inner ear."

"Poor thing," Rarity mumbled, "I suppose a griffin roaring directly into your ear would give anyone a headache."

"It's worse than that," Twilight said, running her hoof over Myles neck and trying to keep him comfortable. "Worse for him, anyways."

"What do you mean, Twilight?" Rarity asked perplexedly.

"It's like you said," Twilight replied sadly, "he was affected more because he's different from us."

"What?"

"Back at Pinkie's party, you got angry at me for hurting Myles just because he had an ability I didn't-"

"At which point you ran out-"

"Because I realized you were exactly right," Twilight continued as quietly as possible, "I was angry and jealous because I thought Myles was faking his talent so he could do something I can't, but I hadn't considered he could do it not because he was better, but simply because he was different."

"I'm afraid I still don't understand."

"Rarity, he actually did hear the buzzer and he can hear the crystals, he probably always could because his hearing is more sensitive than most ponies. Astoundingly more sensitive. It's also probably how he defended the town so well before figuring out the crystals, he likely heard creatures coming a lot earlier than anypony else would've."  
"The Mayor always complained about how hard it was to rouse him though…" Rarity said uncertainly.

"Right, because he tuned that out as an unimportant sound," Twilight couldn't help but grin a little at this, "but he was listening for dangers from the forest even while he slept."

"But that's through a solid wall and way out in the woods…" Rarity sounded amazed, "Can he really hear that well?"

"I'd be surprised if he hasn't heard this whole conversation even though his ears would still be ringing."

"Yeah they are," Myles said from the bed, still keeping his eyes shut.

"So when Gilda roared at him…" Rarity began.

"It'd be sort of like someone had clapped their hooves on either side of his skull… about a dozen times."

"Sounds about right," Myles mumbled.

"Oh you poor thing," Rarity cooed, placing her own hoof on Myles head.

"What happened to Loudbeak, anyways?" Myles asked, wanting to keep them talking to distract him from the remaining nausea, which was slowly fading.

"She seemed to think Pinkie Pie was conspiring to make her 'lose her cool,'" Rarity giggled, "but it turned out she was being pranked by Rainbow Dash. She flew off not long after you ran away."

A sad look crossed Twilights face, "Between the way Gilda and I acted, I suspect we pretty much ruined Pinkie Pie's party…"

Rarity pulled Twilight into a hug as well, "She didn't seem bothered by it, Rainbow said she'd rather spend time with Pinkie, they only really seemed concerned with Myles' wellbeing." Twilight's head hung in shame, but Rarity patted her on the back. "I'll go let them know everything will be fine and that Myles just isn't feeling well." Rarity excused herself from the room and Twilight followed her to the door.

"Tell Pinkie to keep it down when she comes to Myles' house, too."

"Should I say why?" She asked nervously.

"That's up to Myles…"

"Go ahead," Myles said, making the girls jump. He relaxed a little, laying his head to the side as he finally seemed to regain his ability to tell which way was up, "they'll find out sooner or later anyways." Twilight giggled at Rarity's shocked expression as she shut the door as quietly as possible and made her way back to Myles' side.

"Look, Myles…" she began.

"Its fine, Twilight," he sighed, "It was just a misunderstanding."

"It's not just that, I let my jealousy get in the way of our friendship, I- I- " Twilight shuddered a bit as she recalled her actions, "I attacked you and accused you of being a liar, all because I couldn't admit there might be something you could be better at-" She stopped as Myles wrapped his front hooves around her and brought her into a tight embrace, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"Its fine, Twilight," he said, "We all make mistakes. I should know, I make more than some ponies do," he smiled as he felt Twilight shake with nervous laughter, then she pulled away from their hug "besides, if you hadn't I'd have never known about my ear thingy." He flicked one of his ears with a hoof, grimacing as it stung a little once more.

"How could you not know?" She wondered aloud.

"I remember asking you the same thing recently," he grinned, "and I had no idea, I thought everyone could hear the crystals too. Also I got roared at a bunch before you got to Ponyville, what really stumps me is how this hasn't come up before…" Myles looked confused as he considered the pain he'd been put through.

"Hmmm," Twilight placed a hoof to her chin in thought, "when we first met and I was asking about your crystals…"

"You mean when you figured out how crystals and magic interact?"

"That was you, all I did was ask you questions."

"You asked the right questions, Twilight, I really doubt I would have made any progress if you hadn't."

"You're the one who put it all together though."

"Still wouldn't have happened without you," Myles smirked.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "This isn't actually helping…"

Myles' head drooped, "Sorry, I just wanted you to know that, as far as I'm concerned, the discovery was yours."

Twilight looked thoughtful at this and her eyes began to water a bit, "…thanks Myles…"

She shook her head and wiped her eyes with a hoof before he could look up and spot her expression. "Anyway, you said before that you tuned the humming out because it was always there, correct?"

"Yeah."  
"And would you say I'm right in assuming you've been trying new experiments on crystals ever since you figured out how to make it work?"

"Yes."

"Well then," Twilight gently lifted one of his ears and lit up her horn as she peered inside, "This is just a theory, but my guess would be that they are more sensitive to loud noises because you've been using them so much for listening to subtle changes in sound."

"So you're saying… what… I figured out how to open my ears more?"

Twilight giggled, "Sort of, but definitely not on a conscious level, more than likely it happened over the course of the past few weeks as an automatic response."  
"So now I'm stuck like this?"

"Maybe not, you could probably keep a good balance in sensitivity going so long as you don't spend extended periods or time listening to crystals. Just remember to take breaks and it might get better. I've never heard of this kind of thing happening to anypony, but then again, you're the only pony I know that spends hours at a time listening to crystals. I'll definitely be doing some research into the anatomy of the aural canal after this." She had trailed off, talking to herself, but seemed to suddenly remember he was there. "Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly, "Feeling better?"

Myles cracked a grin, "Yeah, and I definitely feel better about this ear thing now that Celestia's top student is on the case." Twilight chuckled a bit but then her eyes went wide.

"Celestia! I forgot to write her my letter with my findings about friendship!" Twilight sprinted out of the house, leaving Myles door wide open. Slowly, he got up and shut his door, pausing only to say "Night, Twilight," to the purple blur accelerating away from his home.

**I really need to stop making assumptions when I sit down to type these. ** **True enough I managed to work Myles into the plot of the episode while only mildly paying attention to the actual events of the episode again, and I promise I won't do that for every episode, so just calm down if you consider that a cop out. **

**I was going to say the hearing thing came out of nowhere, but that's not entirely true. After typing out the first few chapters the idea occurred to me as part of why Myles could figure out crystal magic but others couldn't, but originally it wasn't going to come up until later. Now that it's done, I'm glad it worked its way into this episode. It made this chapter more fun than I anticipated and working it into the episode I had initially planned to introduce it in would've made that one tedious. **

**Occasionally, I grew concerned that I was writing Twilight OOC in this chapter, but I kept remembering Lesson Zero. I once suggested to a friend that the writers of MLP missed a great opportunity by not having Twilight completely lose her mind throughout season 2, causing trouble with the express purpose of finding out more about friendship and only regaining her sanity at the season finale. They loved the idea and expressed interest in writing a fanfic of that, I've no idea if they ever got around to it. Regardless, Twilight is still very new to friendship and we know she has potential to act irrationally when it comes to what she's learned. If you think I took it too far, go ahead and let me know as long as you're polite about it, but I think her actions are within her normal deviations from sanity portrayed in the show.**

**The best part of this is it's going to make the next episode even more interesting. Or at least I hope it will. The topic will certainly be hard to avoid. And I already had something interesting planned for that episode just based on Myles' occupation. Don't worry though, when you read this I will have posted that chapter as well, so just hit next to find out what I'm talking about.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	6. Book 1- Ch 6

**Boom! Double post! Told ya!**

**I'm probably going to stick to posting two chapters at once, at least until I've made it through season 1. Most of the interesting things I have pre-planned for Myles kick off in season 2, however I've been pleasantly surprised with how he's fit into season 1 so far. Regardless, just so you guys get more per update and this doesn't feel like it's taking forever, I'll give this a shot.**

**I'm not sure about what all is going to happen here. I have at least one thing I know has to happen because of a mistake I made earlier. I also have at least one thing that can't happen because it would ruin the episode. I'll elaborate on those after the chapter if the former still winds up happening.**

**I don't own My Little Pony**

**(Settle in for a longer chapter)**

Boast Busters or Shattered

Myles snuck quietly along the tree line, keeping an eye on the surface of the swamp water. He didn't bother checking the woods behind him, whatever lived in the swamp kept the other inhabitants of the Everfree forest at a distance, which was why it had caught his attention.

Before Twilight arrived, his excursions into the forest were usually a death-defying sprint trying to lose a potential predator or lure it into a trap. Any knowledge he'd gained of the creatures who lived there was usually at the cost of a few hairs from his tail and a few fresh bruises. Now that his crystal warning system was in place, he had time to look explore. He had always intended to do so in order to familiarize himself with the types of creatures who lived there, as he had no doubt there were dozens of varieties he didn't know about. While it put him in danger of being attacked, it also meant he might figure out a better way of fighting a monster without the stress of having to keep it away from Ponyville at the same time.

At least, that's the reasoning he gave the Mayor when he told her of his intentions to explore. If he was completely honest, he'd have just admitted that he was curious about the place. Before Nightmare Moon returned he had had no idea the old royal castle was in the forest, there might be other ruins inside as well. Myles also recalled glimpsing what appeared to be a straw-covered hut in the woods on one occasion as well, but he had been too busy running from timberwolves to take a look at the time and later he couldn't find the spot he'd seen it in again.

He'd passed the swamp before, but he'd never stayed long enough to see anything unusual that lived there. If he hadn't noticed the lack of wild animals around the water, he probably wouldn't have bothered looking for anything there.

Myles jumped as he heard a loud croak from a nearby toad, which then quickly hopped away. The toads seemed to be the one exception to the absence of wildlife in the water. Initially he considered that they might be the reason for the quiet, but they didn't act aggressively at all and if they were poisonous there would still be other creatures in the habitat, they'd probably leave the toads be. He had just decided to read up on toads in the library when he noticed something else strange. If he looked closely he could see the swamp was populated by hundreds of toads, their natural camouflage made them hard to spot, but if one looked carefully they could be picked out. Myles had never seen so many toads in one place before, but that wasn't what bothered him. Every other time he'd seen a toad it was accompanied by their signature bellowed, grating croaks, often overlapping each other to make a constant din that made them one of Myles least favorite animals.

The swamp inside the Everfree forest, however, was quiet as a tomb.

The toad that had surprised him had been the loudest noise he'd heard in the last hour and the creature had fled quickly afterwards. Myles kept still and observed closely. The ripples the toad had created when he hopped through the water had spread to the center, almost barely visible at this point, but suddenly the water's surface writhed with new waves from several new sources. He heard a few loud croaks and several wet impacts as what looked like every toad in the swamp fled, putting as much distance between themselves and the water as possible. Before Myles could begin following them, the water's surface churned as though they were rapids in a river. He took a tentative step back, but froze when he heard it. The sound was muffled and indistinct, clearly coming from deep below the surface, but it was loud enough that Myles felt it through the ground at the same time.

He couldn't decide if the sound had more in common with the toad's croaks or the growl of a predator. The noise became louder and repeated, this time overlapping itself, and the water's surface seemed to grow more violent. Myles quit pondering the sounds quality and dashed between the trees towards Ponyville. He couldn't be sure what lay beneath the swamps surface, but he knew there was more than one of them, and they were each probably bigger than his house.

As he spotted the edge of Ponyville, he heard the sound again. It was distant, but clearer now, and it was accompanied by the sound of trees being broken like twigs. He stopped running when he got outside the perimeter and listened. After a few more roars, the sound faded and Myles breathed a sigh of relief.

As he entered his home, he decided he wasn't curious enough to go back to the swamp anytime soon. And even then, he'd have to be certain to leave a full regiment of Celestia's personal guard at the town's edge in case it tried to follow him back. He briefly considered writing the Princess for permission to fill the swamp with crystal depth charges, but instead shook his head and chuckled, imagining the Princess' reaction to him effectively asking to bomb the forest, even if it was for the safety of Ponyville.

He put on his saddle bag and checked the perimeter crystal to see that everything was in order before leaving for the library. As he neared the center of town, he spotted what looked like a stage extending from a brightly colored carriage parked next to the town hall. Most of Ponyville seemed to have gathered around it. He spotted a light blue unicorn in a well-adorned cape walking behind the curtain as the crowd dispersed. Whatever had been going on had just ended, so Myles simply shrugged and continued towards the library.

After a few knocks on the library door, it was opened by a distressed looking Twilight.

"Hey Twilight," Myles frowned as he spotted her expression, "Something wrong?"

"No," she said quickly, "Nothing. What did you need?"

Myles looked at her quizzically before continuing, "Do you have any books on wildlife, specifically swamp-dwelling creatures?"

"Oh," Twilight seemed to relax a bit, "I'm sure I do. C'mon inside and we'll see what we can find. Myles spotted a door in the middle of the room as he entered and raised an eyebrow. Twilight chuckled nervously and made it vanish. "Just a joke I was playing on Spike."

Myles rolled his eyes as she turned and was about to make a sarcastic remark when the crystal on his leg emitted two dull tones and glowed red. He tapped it with a hoof and spotted two fading red shapes on the perimeter wall. They weren't that large but were vaguely pony-shaped. Myles grumbled as he turned back to the door.

"Gotta check the perimeter. Guess I'll look at those books later."

Twilight laughed nervously, "Okay, I'll leave them out for you."

Myles galloped towards his home, making a mental note to try and figure out what was bothering Twilight after he was done dragging the foals sneaking into the Everfree forest to the mayor's office. As far as he knew, Ponyville didn't have a jail or even anything resembling law enforcement, the town hadn't had need of them. Perhaps they'd build one after tonight, but for now, he'd have to resist the temptation to repeatedly smack the ponies who forced him to go back into the forest twice in the same afternoon. Or rather night, Myles noticed the sun setting on the horizon and doubled his speed. He had to act fast, the forest was a completely different place at night.

While the Everfree forest was certainly deadly during the daytime, the dangers that rose with the sun generally just ate you quickly, and you would have had plenty of warning. The nocturnal predators of those cursed woods tended to be a lot more subtle and thorough. If Myles didn't get the idiots out now, no one would ever find a trace of them. And he'd have to avoid telling their relatives that he secretly hoped they were eaten, there were scant few alternatives that he knew of and all of those made being devoured alive seem like a mercifully pleasant alternative.

He checked the perimeter again before running into the forest, making sure to enter the same area in which the delinquents did in order to make picking up their trail easier. Myles growled in frustration, following the blatant trail of broken tree limbs and smashed foliage and keeping alert for the creatures the two would inevitably wake as they all but bulldozed a path through the woods. Their trail wasn't hard to follow and they had cleared some of the debris as they went on, so Myles kept up a brisk gallop along their trail, not worried about being stealthy. Whatever could be alerted to the presence of prey had already been roused. These two only stood a chance if he could get to them first.

An expression of surprise crossed Myles face as he broke into a clearing and continued following the trail, which now amounted to twigs and leaves the two had shaken loose as they crossed the clearing and entered the caves. Myles hadn't been inside the caves yet, but he knew many of them were occupied, having spotted several animals retreating into them at night. He lit up his horn and charged into the cave, following the sound of voices. They sounded young, probably schoolchildren on a dare. He realized at least one was a unicorn as Myles spotted a magical light ignite a little ways into the cave, the only light aside from his own. If he was very lucky, he'd be scolding these two for waking up a colony of bats in about a half hour.

"What do you think you're…?" Myles began, causing the two young ponies to turn towards him as the one's light continued to grow brighter. As the cave was illuminated, Myles groaned.

Today's allotment of luck must've gone towards keeping the swamp creature from following him, because it was obviously spent already. The two glanced around at what made Myles stop talking and their jaws dropped.

"…run…"

His voice was barely audible over the building rumble.

"Wha-!?"

"Shhhh!" Myles cut off the shorter one's shout and continued in a harsh whisper, "Run back to town as fast as you can and get help." The massive shape behind the two began to stir.

"B- bu-but what abo-"

"If I survive tonight," Myles hissed through gritted teeth, more from anger than a desire to be quiet, "you will both have permanent hoof-shaped indentations in your thick skulls when you wake up tomorrow, but the only way you are going to wake up tomorrow is if you RUN!" Myles shouted at the two, causing them to jump as he pulled a few crystals out of his saddlebag. The two small unicorns ran full tilt out of the cave, screaming the whole way. Myles didn't bother to tell them to be quiet, the damage had already been done.

He embedded a crystal in either side of the cave and tuned them to form a barrier between him and the creature. The barrier flickered into being just as what appeared to be a translucent, house-sized bear rose to its feet. Myles covered his ears with his hooves as the creature let out an ear-splitting roar. His head spun, but because of the barrier muffling the sound and the adrenaline already pumping through his veins Myles was able to leap to his feet with little trouble. He galloped out of the cave and made for the woods.

Behind him, he heard a shrill pitched whine as the crystals overloaded from the strain. Myles growled but didn't look back, he'd hoped the crystals would buy him a greater head-start, but that would have been lucky and his current reserve wouldn't have filled a teaspoon. He thought quickly, he couldn't handle the beast himself and though he didn't doubt the two colts would get help, he wasn't confident it'd be able to find him in the dense woods. He certainly wasn't leading the beast back to town. Suddenly, Myles let out a laugh as he turned further into the woods. There was a location nearby that would be easy for anypony to find, and help may already be waiting there.

"C'mon fuzzball!" Myles shouted over his shoulder. "You and I are gonna meet some new friends!" He heard trees buckle and fall behind him and felt the massive bear's rampaging footfalls behind him grow louder. He put on a burst of speed as he spotted an opening in the trees, skidding to a stop only when he made it to the clearing ahead. The massive blue shape crashed through the trees towards him but Myles merely smirked. He lightly kicked a rock with one of his rear hooves.

The soft "bloop" the stone made as it broke the surface of the swamp seemed to echo off the tree trunks.

As the water behind him turned into a tumultuous spray, Myles grinned and prepared to run again. The smile slowly faded from his face as the sound of falling trees faded to silence. He could see the texture of the strange beast's hide, covered in stars similar to the Princess Luna's mane but a lighter blue. He could make out the shape of a constellation on its side, the bright points that formed the shape only outshined by the creature's eyes. Of course, Myles could see all this because the beast had stopped its raging pursuit and was now looking behind Myles with its eyes wide.

"Okay," Myles muttered, "I'm no longer as confident in this plan as I was ten seconds ago." He heard giant splashes as something emerged from the water behind him. Myles sprinted directly for the hairy shape in front of him without looking back. The beast looked shocked for a moment, but then raised a massive claw to strike as the pony approached.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on somepony great and powerful instead?!"

Myles leaned his head forward as he sprinted between the confused bear's legs. After a moment, trees shook as the beast dropped back to the ground and wood splintered as the massive bear turned itself around.

"I TOLD YOU TO RUN!" Myles shouted at the orange colt ahead of him, who had turned and fled after shouting at the bear.

"I am running!" the young pony called back.

Myles frowned and glanced back at their pursuer, who seemed even more determined to catch the small things that had disturbed its rest. He thought he saw something other than anger in its eyes and reconsidered. Perhaps it just really wanted to get away from the swamp. Myles tried angling back towards the caves, but the bear continued on its current path.

"Please tell me your friend went for help!" Myles shouted as he sprinted to catch up with the orange colt fleeing ahead of him.

"Yeah, don't worry, the great and powerful Trixie will take care of that Ursa Major!"

"Who?"

"The great and powerful Trix-"

"I swear to Celestia if that is the name of your imaginary friend I am going to finish you off before that ursa even catches up!"

"No! She's real! Very real! Also very great and powerful!"

"Yeah, I figured that much out already. Hope she can defend the town."

"Why? It's after us!"

"And WHERE EXACTLY ARE YOU RUNNING TO?!" Myles' eyebrow twitched as he screamed at the colt.

"…oh yeah…" Myles heard him mutter as he finally caught up. The realization caused the other pony to slow a bit before Myles shoved him onwards with his shoulder.

"Too late now," Myles yelled, "This party's coming to Ponyville whether it's ready for it or not." He nodded forwards, indicating the increasingly sparse trees and the outline of a few buildings ahead. "This time you keep running! Understand?"

"You got it!" the colt screamed in desperate acknowledgment of the two angry monsters behind him. One last bit of luck seemed to have held out, as the creature from the swamp appeared too territorial to pursue them.

Myles turned and skidded to a stop as he had done in front of the swamp, this time settling several yards in front of his own house. He grabbed a couple of spare crystals inside with his magic, the window of his house shattering as he pulled them outside and began to enchant them. He closed his eyes and listened to the crystals' pitch fluxuate slowly. His ears twitched about as he tried to ignore the ursa roaring and smashing through anything in its path, focusing instead on tuning the crystals in front of him. As the ursa's latest roar faded, Myles estimated it was only a few dozen yards away. Myles pushed the thought that he might be gone in mere seconds to the back of his mind and focused.

The crystals hum harmonized and Myles thrust them both into the ground and triggered them with a manic grin. He opened his eyes just in time to see the ursa slam against the barrier at full speed. The crystals squealed in protest at the strain, but wavered back and forth in pitch as the bear rose up and slammed its claws into the barrier. "Neat, huh? Just thought of it. Maybe a double reinforced barrier won't last long, but as long as those crystals keep juggling the magical load between each other," Myles sat down and panted, a smirk edging its way across his face, "you are staying put, fluffy."

Once again, Myles smug expression fell apart into one of worry as he heard something else and responded in a monotone "Oh no." He looked down as he heard a second deafening "crack" from the ground in front of him. "No." The soil shifted and so did the rock beneath. "No no!" He looked up as the ursa roared again and slammed itself into the barrier. "NONONO!" The crystals moved back as the rock it was anchored to scraped against its other broken pieces. "NO NO NO NO NO-" Myles got to his feet, his eyes bugging out as the ground beneath him buckled as well.

Myles turned to run as he shouted, "NONONONONONONONOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAH!" Myles stumbled as the ground where he was running heaved itself free of the earth and erupted underneath him.

In adrenaline fueled clarity he watched as the massive boulders were pushed over and ricocheted off each other in their horizontal avalanche headed directly towards his house. The rock he was standing on lurched forwards and flung him towards the house. He curled his hooves against himself and aimed his back towards the house as his horn sparked with magic.

"Ow," Myles stated flatly, partly out of anticipation of the coming pain and partly in case he didn't have the chance later.

He saw a gray-blue orb flicker into existence around him just before the first boulder hit him. The orb pulsed brighter as it was struck, sending him flying backwards through the wall. Wood splintered to pieces as he went through and the rest of the wall burst inwards as the torrent of rocks smashed into his house. His bed and dresser shattered and were thrown airborne, followed quickly by the pieces of his work table and storage trunk.

Still watching the chaos unfold at a crawl, Myles heard a faint hum as the music crystal from his bedside table floated towards his protective shell, his gala ticket still stuck to the bottom. He chuckled and opened the barrier a bit, letting the crystal float inside and into his hoof before he closed the shield around himself again.

Violas began to play as he drifted through what used to be the place where he lived. He turned and saw the other wall of his house burst as he was pushed through it. He heard the rest of his house collapse behind him but he was focused on the building next door. He remembered complaining to the Mayor about the placement of his house, how it seemed like his nearest neighbor was two dozen yards away, almost like they didn't want to admit he lived in town. The violas held their chord a bit then let it fade as they began preparing the next. Even with his senses allowing him to perceive the chipped paint on the house next door approaching slowly, it occurred to him that perhaps his house was actually too close.

The cellos struck the first note of their sequence.

He accelerated towards the wall as time sped up again.

Myles wondered who in their right minds paints a house that shade of yellowy green.

And then everything went dark.

"-sycally, he'll be fine," Myles heard a familiar voice state, "Lots of nasty contusions and a few lacerations from shrapnel. And he obviously has some blood loss, which is why it looks so bad, but evidently his magic soaked up most of the impact. That, however, is what worries me. Given Myles' preexisting magical hindrance and the strain it would have taken to generate a barrier to protect himself from the impact… he'll be bed ridden for a month, at least."

Myles cracked open an eyelid, seeing the same doctor who'd treated him previously talking to Twilight and the rest of his friends. Twilight's eyes widened as he sat up and threw his covers off, swinging his hooves over the side of the hospital bed. The doctor's jaw dropped in disbelief before he shook his head and walked towards his patient.

"Mr. Shardslow," he began.

"Shardsole," Myles corrected automatically as his hooves hit the ground, shaking a bit before he stood up, "And I'm sorry doc, but I've got plans for this month."

"Myles!" Twilight threw her hooves around him and the others soon followed, squeezing him as tightly as the last time he'd woken up here. The embrace made Myles wince in pain as it brought the numerous bruises to his attention "I know you don't like it, but you really should get some rest."

"Not yet, gotta take care of something right away," he gently squeezed past the girls and walked into the hallway. He looked around and, spotting the staircase, headed towards it. Twilight was right behind him with a look of increasing concern on her face.

"Myles, you shouldn't even be out of bed yet, let alone walking around," Twilight pleaded with him as he began to descend to the first floor, the girls following close behind, "We just want you to be okay."

Myles glanced around and met her eyes, his expression softening a bit, "Thanks," Twilight smiled, thinking she'd convinced him, but then she saw him walking away again.

"Myles!" she called after him.

He made his way to the front entrance of the hospital and threw the doors open, looking around at the town in disbelief. He shook his head and scowled as he spotted two colts he recognized, standing across the road with their mouths agape. Myles walked up to them until he was only a foot away. Though not very tall for a pony, Myles still looked a little frightening as he drew himself up to his full height and glared down at the two.

They shivered and shrank a little as they looked up at him.

"Names," Myles said in a monotone.

"Wh- wha whu?" The small blue colt tripped over his words.

"What are," Myles injected every syllable with his frustration from the past several months, "your names?"

"S-s-snips."

"Snai-," the other trailed off into silence.

"Speak up," Myles growled as the two shook.

"Snails," the orange colt managed to blurt out.

Myles snorted, blowing the two colts' manes back as the searing hot air rushed past them. Then he leaned in and brought his face forward until it he was glaring directly into Snails' eyes from a few inches away.

"Never," he began quietly before turning and bringing himself to glare at Snips at the same uncomfortable distance to finish, "-again."

Myles walked back through the entrance of the hospital, the doors still held open by some shocked medical staff who had watched this scene unfold. The doors closed behind him as the staff ran to check on the two colts. Snips was shaking like a leaf and Snails seemed to have fainted.

Finally, he turned back to Twilight and his voice shook a little as he asked, "How long was I out?"

"It's been about three hours since the Ursa Minor attacked."

"Only three hou- MINOR?!" Myles interrupted himself as his mind caught up with the end of Twilight's statement. Twilight nodded nervously.

"Three hours?"

"Yes."

"Is… is everypony okay?"

"Everyone's fine," Twilight gently placed a hoof on his shoulder, "but you need rest!"

Myles sighed in frustration. "What happened?"

"I will tell you as soon as you get back to your hospital bed." Twilight stood between him and the town and gave him a stern glare. Myles groaned and made his way back inside. A nurse offered him a wheelchair but he walked right past them.

Back upstairs, Myles rolled back into his bed without a word. Rarity used her magic to float the cover over him and he muttered a quiet "Thank you," to her as he turned to face Twilight.

"Well, the town was attacked by an Ursa Minor," Twilight began nervously, but seemed at a loss for where to go next as Myles rolled his eyes. Applejack stepped forward. "You bein modest again? We told you, you're our friend no matter what. Twilight drove it off," she turned to Myles and finished with a proud grin.

"Twilight?" Myles eyes widened as he looked back to Twilight, who hung her head and looked away nervously. "What's wrong?" he asked her with genuine concern.

"She's just worryin' for no reason again. Did ya hear about Trixie?"

Myles frowned, "I've heard of her, but I've never had the displeasure of meeting her." Rarity giggled.

"She was spoutin' loads a hooey in the town square about bein the best magician in Equestria and telling everyone she'd beaten an Ursa Major while showing off her magic. Twilight thought we didn't like her because she used magic too, so she got all in a tizzy for nuthin'. Anywho, those two colts outside bought into Trixie's lies and went into the forest to lure an Ursa Major to town so Trixie could show how 'great an' powerful' she wus." Applejack laughed a bit.

"She pretty much just ran away, screaming," Rainbow interjected with a grin.

"Then Twilight stepped up and used her magic to lull the beast to sleep, give it a milk bottle and swaddle it to sleep. She knew what to do because she'd been researching Trixie's boasting." Rarity had continued.

"It was just cranky," Twilight seemed to have her confidence back, "it was just a baby after all." Myles groaned and let his head fall to his pillow, causing Twilight to rush to his side, "Are you alright?!"

"'m fine," Myles grumbled, "but I really, _really_ do not want to meet that monster's mommy." The girls giggled nervously. "So everypony's fine and there wasn't even any damage?"

"A few roofs," Twilight began, "the water tower will have to be replaced, your neighbor's wall and…" she trailed off nervously.

Myles sighed, "My house, I know." The girls looked shocked. "I was actually there for that bit." Myles tilted his head forward to look at them, "Is there anything left?"

"Just these," Twilight's eyes began to water as she placed his gala ticket and music crystal on the table next to him, "We- we found them in your hooves…" Twilight looked ready to cry, Myles leaned forward and put a hoof on her shoulder, "Hey! What's wrong? You saved the day! Everypony's fine."

"But you!" she stuttered, "Your house! You lost everything and we couldn't help! If I hadn't been too scared of what everyone might think of me, I would have acted earlier an- and-" Twilight stammered, "When I- I mean, when we found you… you were…" she trailed off weakly and Myles examined his leg, eyeing the dark purple bruises and a bandage around his shoulder that was tinted dark red with blood. He'd been cleaned up by the doctors and still looked pretty awful. He must've looked like a nightmare when the girls found him. Myles grinned as a thought occurred to him.

Myles began to chuckle a bit, catching the girls' attention as they looked aghast at his sudden mirth (the exception being Pinkie Pie, who joined him in his laughter), which had escalated to a full belly laugh which stuttered as he said "HA-Ow! Ow! Hahahahaow, it hurts to laugh! Hehheheheheow! Heheow!"

"Myles?" Twilight tried to get his attention, looking frightened as her friend shook with laughter. "Maybe you should lie down…"

"Don't worry about me," Myles said through his continued chuckles, "I probably gave poor Snips and Snails heart attacks! HaHehhoooooo-ha-ow!" He closed his eyes and leaned back. "I mean, I was trying to scare them enough to make them stay away from the forest, but I must've looked like a bucking zombie! HAHAHOOHAHEH!" Twilight cracked a smile but her eyes were still watering. Myles pulled her over into another hug. "I'm fine Twilight. And I'm sorry you had to deal with the ursa on your own."

"There's nothing you could have done…"

"Not at the time no," Myles shut his eyes, "but I'm going to have to write to Princess Celestia about getting a new supply of crystals, trying to find my own isn't working and if I want to do my job I'll need them. As soon as I get out I'm improving the perimeter as much as I can. The early warning system isn't enough and I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt if I can't protect the town myself."

"But Twilight can beat an Ursa Minor, probably an Ursa Major even," Twilights eyes widened and she shook her head at Rainbow Dash's words, but Rainbow missed this and continued, "Between the two of you, you can totally handle anything that comes out of that forest if you can already handle the biggest, baddest thing around, right?" Her grin faded as she saw Myles' grim expression. "Myles?"

Myles looked up and smiled, "Oh! Sorry, Rainbow, I spaced out there for a minute."

Twilight shot him a skeptical look, but he shook his head, yawned and stretched. "Well, you need to get your rest, we'll leave you to it. We're so glad you're feeling better though, Myles." The girls approached and hugged him again before filing out of the room. He waved goodbye to them, mouthing a silent "thank you," to Twilight. When he thought they'd gone, he sighed heavily and crossed his hooves over his eyes.

"Myles," Twilight's voice came from the doorway, where Myles spotted her when he sat up quickly, "What else is out there?"

He closed his eyes and turned on his side, "I don't know, Twilight, and hopefully we'll never have to find out, but I'll sleep easier after we've prepared for it."

**WOO! That definitely turned out a little different as usual, but for once I had a list of things I knew had to get into (or out of) this chapter and I got them all!**

**Firstly, just in case you were still wondering about the one I mentioned at the opening that was the result of a mistake in a previous chapter, I demolished Myles' house. Mean of me, I know, and not even strictly necessary, I suppose. In my excitement in getting the first two chapters out, I gave Myles house a bit of a generic description, completely forgetting the design I'd thought up that more suited his job, though that design is in question now as well. I could have gone back and rewrote the previous chapters to have the new house design, but I'm lazy by habit, and my brain immediately tried to talk me out of doing it. It wasn't long before it threw out the idea of destroying his house in the upcoming fight with the ursa and I was instantly taken with the idea. It was exciting and it gave me more interesting stuff to do with Myles in season 1. Don't expect to see it next chapter either, it'll take a few episodes for it to be built because I need him to have no place of his own for an upcoming episode. It didn't go down the way I thought though, originally the ursa was going to smack him through his house and then knock the rest down while pursuing him. At which point Myles and the ursa would continue to fight a bit while he called Trixie a coward only to be saved by Twilight himself. This went out the window when I had Myles' encounter and attempt to use the swamp monster to his advantage before the fight comes to Ponyville, meaning he had to run halfway across the Everfree forest. Twice. It also occurred to me that while Myles is stubborn and foolhardy at times, he is not stupid and his concern for the town would mean he would never face down the ursa at the town border with only his magic. I love how he came up with a last-ditch plan and how it worked out, but once again I took him out of a major part of the episode because I realized that a)he wasn't going to survive being crushed between boulders and the ruins of his house without using some magic and b) I wasn't too eager to type out the rest of the episode when Myles couldn't do much without messing up the episode's lesson.**

**Speaking of trying not to step on the episode's toes, I guess we didn't really touch on Myles crystal magic this chapter, but this was partially on purpose. When getting ready to write this one I put the episode on as I usually do, but I didn't remember the opening challenge by Trixie as well as I thought. I think I had misremembered it as the magical showdown she has with Twilight in a later episode, as I didn't recall Applejack and Rainbow Dash challenging Trixie. The clincher, however, was Trixie actually uttering something along the lines of "Anything you can do, I can do better!" Originally Myles was going to challenge Trixie and fail because his magic gave out on him, but once I realized some non-magical ponies rose to the challenge and Trixie had used those words which would've just been vague enough to allow Myles to drag crystal magic into the works. You may recall I spent most of the previous chapter introducing another reason for him being the ****_ONLY_**** pony able to perform crystal magic for now. So either Trixie would have to figure out crystal magic on the spot, which wasn't very plausible even before I deliberately wrote in a reason for even Twilight to be unable to do it, or Myles would have to miss the opening showdown. As I previously said, I was going to make up for this by including him heavily in the second half of the episode, but that didn't happen… oh well.**

**Another thing I wanted in this story and worked into this chapter was foreshadowing! Woo! It's almost like I remembered stuff about writing or something. Some of it wasn't all that subtle and I hope that at least one bit was subtle enough. We shall wait and see, since I obviously can't elaborate now**

**Oh and the secure perimeter was going to be a gradual change leading up to season 2, only improving when he made progress with his research. I like it better this way, though. Protecting his friends is a better reason and more incentive for him to make improvements at a faster pace now that Everfree has humbled him (kicked his rump). **

**Audience participation time! I'm a little tired of writing the word "perimeter" and I think Myles' next defensive/early-warning system will go by a snappy acronym, but I can't really think of one right now. Leave your suggestions for acronyms, with or without what it stands for, if I like the acronym enough I'll fill in the words. Oh and make sure to keep it clean. Like, not even "Bucknet" is acceptable. Hmmmm…. Actually….**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	7. Book 1- Ch 7

**Y'know, when I saw what episode was up next, I was actually kinda worried, fearing I'd written myself into a corner at last. Then I realized that Myles' involvement in this episode would've been strictly voluntary anyways, not to mention it gave me a chance to…**

**Actually, I think I'll hold off on the explanation to til the end. Odds are pretty good what I type here won't actually have any relevance to the chapter I end up posting. Oh, except for one thing.**

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Dragonshy or Faultline

The twin crystals were still harmonized. Myles stood there with a curious look on his face. He stood once again in the room made of crystals he had dreamt about previously, this did not surprise him. What did surprise him was the fact that, from any observations he could make, it now stood exactly as he left it previously, right down to the pair of crystals he'd tuned into each other's frequency after talking to…

Myles resisted the urge to facehoof as he thought of an easier way to get answers.

"Princess Luna?" he called out in no direction in particular, "Your majesty, are you- GAH!" Myles recoiled and fell onto his haunches as he nearly collided with the royal alicorn he had been calling.

"Forgive us if we startled thee, brave Shardsole," though she spoke apologetically, he had no trouble hearing her voice over the collective din of the untuned crystals.

Myles dusted himself off, "That's perfectly fine, your majesty," he stood to his hooves and looked a little awkward as he spoke next. "Princess Luna, I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me about my dream."

Luna looked a little taken aback, "Dreams are often confusing things, even we, the Princess of the Night, cannot always decipher them, especially when they are merely stitched together from the frayed imagination of a stressed mind. However, we will answer to the best of our ability."

Myles looked thoughtful, "Right, that's actually what concerns me, do you recognize where we are now?"

"Of course, this is where we spoke to you after you had recovered from our conflict."

"Exactly, except the first time I was here, I thought you had brought me."

"Nay, we merely entered your own dream to communicate with you."

"I was afraid of that," Myles frowned, "In that case, can you tell me what this place is?"

"It is in your mind, Shardsole," Luna looked at him quizzically, "Do you not recall it?"

Myles shook his head, "No, aside from the time where I met you and one more instance since, but that's not all that worries me." He walked over towards the twin crystals.

"Pray tell us what else plagues you, Shardsole," Luna followed patiently.

"These," he indicated the two crystals that had caught his attention, "They're just like before, tuned into each other, which is one of the last things I did here before I left last time."

"We can perceive no difference, though truth be told we did not pay them any mind last time we were here."

"You can't hear that? Wait," Myles looked around at her in shock, "Can't you… hear any of them?"

Luna began to look concerned, "Nay, Shardsole, we cannot. As last time, this room holds only silence for us. Only now do we have reason to assume this is not the case for yourself. What can you hear?"

"Every last crystal in here is resonating with magic, each at its own tone and pace. If I listen carefully, I can hear how some of the crystals are meant to harmonize, but they are out of sequence, like an orchestra warming up for a performance, they each practice parts meant to go together, but without a conductor the melodies are difficult to hear."

"We see…" Luna indicated the twin crystals, "And so on your last visit, you harmonized these two?" Myles nodded.

"I didn't think it was that important at the time, it was just a dream, but when I came back and they were as I left them…"

"It is not unusual for dreams to have continuity, it is the unconscious mind picking up on the memory of the unconscious mind, this dream is the same simply because you remember it this way."

"See," Myles turned to her with a frown, "I thought that might be it after my last visit, but now I'm pretty sure it's not."

"What makes you think this?" Luna asked suspiciously.

He pointed a hoof at her, "You."

"Us?"

"General question here, if somepony dreams about being able to shrink themselves and walking around their own home as a tiny pony, can't you do the same upon entering that dream."

"This is correct," Luna frowned a bit, seeming to realize where this was headed.

"Then why can't you hear any crystals here, which is something I can do in reality. In my dream, you should be able to do whatever I can do, right?"

"That is something you know to be a unique skill that only you possess, it makes sense that your subconscious would match this experience."

Myles shook his head and laughed, "Interesting you should say that, Princess, because you said you've only ever heard silence here," he looked at her suspiciously, "And last time I had this dream, I had no idea nopony else could hear the crystals."

Luna's face deepened into a grimace and Myles was momentarily concerned he had offended the Princess until she spoke, "Once again, what we are told of you proves true, you are incredibly perceptive, even to the point of frustrating those around you who wish to allay your fears." She sighed and looked away, "I do not know why this dream is the way it is, but rest assured I-" she paused in surprise, "-we will look into the matter. It is probably nothing of concern. Please excuse us, morning approaches and we must see to the Moon."

Myles bowed politely as she vanished, not wanting to push his luck. He wasn't the best at reading pony's expressions, but he thought he may have upset Luna based on a few key clues. Her abrupt exit made Myles think she was offended after all, but he wasn't sure what could be so serious as to interrupt her royal third person way of speech, something he'd never heard her break in the few times they'd talked after she was Nightmare Moon. He supposed she must talk normally at some times for her to slip up, perhaps her and Celestia spoke normally when they were alone.

Myles continued to think this over when he heard a new sound that sounded familiar.

"-les."

He looked around for the voice and panicked a bit as the world around him began to blur and fade away.

"Myles!"

His eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright, causing Twilight to recoil in shock in much the same fashion he had when he almost ran into Luna before.

"Oh," Myles said as he saw her pick herself up, "Sorry about that."

"It's fine," Twilight said as she dusted herself off, "How are you feeling?"

"Same as ever," he replied with a frown, "I've been better, but I'm-"

"Better than you were, yeah," Twilight rolled her eyes as she heard the answer he'd repeated every day when she asked."

"Hey," Myles tried to look offended but was still smirking, "That's my line!"

Twilight frowned at him, "Anyways, I just wanted to let you know the first shipment of crystals from Canterlot arrived a short time ago. They're out next to where your house was when you want to begin working with them."

Myles grinned, "Finally, was wondering what was taking them so long."

He hopped out of the guest bed and sloppily threw the covers back over it, walking between it and Twilight's bed on the upper level of the library and heading downstairs. He'd been staying here ever since he was released from the hospital, which had been earlier than the doctor had told him initially because the nurses needed to attend to other patients and he refused to stay in his bed, insisting on walking about the hospital to stretch his legs and going downstairs to the waiting room to watch people come and go. Twilight had suggested he stay at the library and the hospital staff had eagerly agreed. Twilight had begun to regret this decision, Myles restlessness had been getting on her and Spike's nerves, but Myles didn't seem to notice. Twilight carefully made the guest bed and was about to make a comment when she heard Myles voice from downstairs.

"Hey Twilight…"

"What is it, Myles," she asked irritably as she approached him where he stood with the library's front door open. She followed his gaze upwards and gawked at the sight that met her vision.

"I feel like this would have come up earlier but… that mountain doesn't happen to be a volcano, does it?" They heard a loud belch from behind them and looked round as a burst of green fire faded from over Spike's mouth and formed a scroll. Twilight ran over and took the scroll from the sleepy dragon's claws.

"Message for you, sir," he said groggily and was snoring deeply less than a second later.

Twilights eye's scanned the message frantically, seeming to grow more shocked as she read.

"You stay here, I need to get the others," Twilight spoke quickly as she ran out the front door. Myles rolled his eyes and rested his head on one of his hooves as he leaned on the table and dozed off again.

"What in the name of all things cinnamon swirl is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?" Myles woke to hear Applejack asking as her and the others entered the library.

"Sleeping," Twilight stated simply as she cracked open a book.

"Huh?" the other girls asked in unison.

"According to Princess Celestia, he's taking a nap, his snoring is what's causing all this smoke."

Myles looked idly out the window, tuning most of the conversation out until Twilight said, "Alright everypony, I need you to gather supplies quickly. We've got a long journey ahead of us, we'll meet back here in less than an hour."

Myles grinned and began to head out the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Twilight asked, narrowing her eyebrows at his jovial expression.

Myles looked a little confused, "Ummmmm, to get some crystals? To help handle the dragon? I gotta admit I zoned out there for a bit, but I thought that was what the big meeting was about."

Twilight nodded but looked serious as she spoke, "Right, and you are staying here."

"Like hay I am, you're going to need m-" Myles was cut off as Twilight pushed a hoof onto the wound on his shoulder, which was still wrapped up in bandages, causing Myles to fall backwards and wince in pain. "Hey!"

"You are still recovering from the fight with the last monster that tried to eat you. You need as much rest as you can get… you know," Twilight frowned, "as much as it's possible to get despite being you."

"Right," Myles said with a growl, "And if you think I'm letting my friends go and challenge something bigger and nastier while I sit at home, you're got another thing coming! You could get fried and eaten up there, or worse!"

"That's very sweet of you to be concerned for us, Myles, but I think we can handle the situation, especially with Fluttershy's help."

"Fluttershy?! Seriously?"

"Yes, her peaceful way with animals is the best way to resolve this without anypony getting hurt."

"You do realize you'll have to drag her up that mountain right? By the time you make it, we'll be breathing smoke down here! We have to act fast!"

"You're absolutely right, Myles," a sad expression crossed Twilight's face, "and just so you know, I'm sorry about this, but we just don't have time to argue."

"Sorry about what? Let's g-" Myles eyes widened as his vision was filled with a bright purple light and everything faded to black.

Myles' eyes snapped open and he shot upright in his bed for the second time that day. He jumped out of the guest bed and ran downstairs, almost trampling Spike as he chased after numerous small animals. "Hey!" Spike yelled as he dodged out from underhoof and glared at Fluttershy's rabbit, who had slipped away from him again.

"Sorry Spike, I've gotta go before the others leave!"

"They already did," Spike explained, still annoyed.

"What?!" Myles shouted and flung open the front door, spotting the plume of smoke still pouring out from the mountain.

"Twilight and the others left hours ago, they have to be halfway up the mountain by now," Spike finished off by pouncing towards as squirrel and grunting as he face planted into the floor. Myles looked up and saw the sun almost at the top of its arc in the sky. Glancing at the clock confirmed his suspicions, it was almost noon.

"So she just knocked me out and left me here, huh?" Myles asked with a grim expression.

"Yeah," Spike said as he tried to catch another small critter, "Said something about you slowing them down with-" Spike stopped abruptly as the front door to the library slammed, he was about to follow when Angel bounced up and kicked off of his head, hopping by with barely audible laughter. "Get BACK HERE!" he shouted as he gave chase again.

Myles stalked up to the wagon at the edge of the forest and sat down. He glanced at the spot where his house used to stand and snorted. There was no debris from his home and his neighbors house had been patched up and even repainted (the same sickening color it was before, he noted with a frown), all that remained was the long groove in the ground where the rocks beneath his home used to be. He sighed and turned back to the wagon.

Levitating a few crystals out, he examined them up close. They were good enough quality, though they weren't gemstones, obviously. The Princess had been generous and understanding, but had known from his previous reports that gemstone quality wasn't as important as minimal impurities and general consistency.

He placed the crystals in front of him and began to tune them with the same spell he'd used against the Ursa Minor, this time layering it across five crystals. After they harmonized, he waited a moment or two before pushing against the barrier, the crystals hummed as they resisted his hoof. The crystal in the middle began to move back with that section of the barrier and the other portions glowed brighter as they bent and took some of the stress from the middle section. He looked curiously at the effect, he hadn't intended to give each crystal a specific section of barrier, but it appeared that the sections reacted to each other like scales, pushing against the adjacent sections and distributing the load. This is still technically what he had been attempting, but he had assumed the barriers would adapt by rerouting magical energy to points of stress. Now that he thought about it, he'd have to set up another layer of detection spells to be feeding information into each section for this to work properly.

He huffed and his head drooped in shame. He'd been lucky the magic had worked out after all, if it had done things exactly as he had imagined, he'd have been bear-food. Thinking back, he supposed he had been imagining the crystals as anchor points, like metal joists supporting either side of a plow. Distributing them across the five crystals, he had thought of them as a net. He scowled a bit at his own foolishness. He levitated more crystals from the wagon and tried not to think about how he was only alive because of a lucky accident.

He sighed as he tried to remember how many crystals had formed the detection barrier, he thought he'd used around 120, but he had been so giddy that day he couldn't be sure. He set about enchanting that many crystals, being careful to keep them in the right order and making the barriers expand as the crystals got farther away from each other. He extended this across the perimeter and pressed a hoof against it, frowning as the barrier leaned inwards at his touch alone. He brought the crystals back and added another layer of crystals in front, connecting each one between the originals. He expanded this barrier and found that while it gave a little, after a short time the barrier pushed him back with great force. Layering the plates had clearly helped. Collapsing the barrier one last time, he tuned them all carefully, making sure they reacted to the same frequency before tuning a new crystal to that one.

Listening carefully, he made the new crystal respond in much the same way the detection barrier had, feeding back a small scale model of the barrier as a whole. He closed his eyes to focus as he listened to the barrier crystals form a multi-layered harmony with the control crystal. As he opened his eyes, Myles felt tired and realized that sweat was pouring down from his forehead. He wiped it away and tapped the control crystal, watching as the barrier activated and rubbed against itself.

Then he shifted his hoof sideways on the crystal, noting as he did that some of the panels of the barrier grew brighter as he did. Frowning, he toggled the crystal with his magic and it started up equally, then brought a hoof forward, not touching the crystal but hovering inches away from it. He watched as corresponding sections of the barrier lit up and grew stronger and toggled the crystal on and off. The alterations seemed to stay until he toggled the crystal twice more, reverting to their original state. He growled and lifted the barriers into place around the forest again, this time anchoring them into the ground. He'd have to move up the detection barrier to make it effective, but this would help a little.

Myles scowled as he eyed the bracer with his detection crystal in it, his horn briefly emitted a bright light as he cut into it and made a space for the control crystal, which he slotted in and then used the excess leather to secure in place. He shook his hoof about to make sure it stayed, looking a bit more crazed than usual before sitting back down. He huffed a bit, having accomplished what he set out to do but feeling more incompetent than before. All his new discoveries had proven was that he was just as useless as the others seemed to think. Looking up, he noticed the smoke from the mountain beginning to disperse, evidently cut off at the source.

He sighed in relief this time. Glad that the girls were successful. He supposed he still didn't know for sure if they were okay, but he had a feeling they were all fine. Twilight had faith in them and it seemed more and more to Myles that she had a better handle on the situation than he did. Perhaps she had been right to question him when he'd been able to hear the crystals, without that one advantage he was still just somepony with no idea what he was doing. He felt another wave of fatigue hit him as he glanced up.

The mid-afternoon sun still beat down upon him. He considered returning to the library, but decided he'd get no rest there as Spike was likely still unable to cope with the numerous critters he was watching over. Myles idly wondered how he would handle that situation and came up with nothing aside from caging the creatures up. Fluttershy clearly knew what she was doing, despite how frightened she always seemed, Twilight had good reason to trust her against a dragon. He grunted in frustration and crawled underneath the cart of crystals, taking shade from the sun.

"Found him! C'mere!"

Myles eyes bulged as he felt something grip one of his rear hooves and dragged him out from under the cart. He was roughly rolled over and he blinked as his vision was filled with rainbow-colored hair. He felt a hoof come down heavily on his chest and he reeled as the world spun from the onslaught of sound that came next.

"What's the big idea?! We've been looking ALL OVER for you! OUCH!" Rainbow grunted as Myles kicked her off of him, releasing the pressure so he could breathe. The manticore had seemed lighter, he thought as he coughed roughly, but then Rainbow was probably pushing down with her wings. His eyes watered as he caught his breath and his vision reeled as more noise echoed around him, though this time not directed at him.

"RAINBOW DASH! I know you're frustrated but that's no reason to go attackin' the poor guy. You know he's still a healin from that mess with the ursa!" Applejack was off to the side, scolding Rainbow Dash. Her last comment made Myles scowl and he rose to his feet, stumbling against the cart and hitting it with his wounded shoulder. He gritted his teeth and grunted, shaking his head and stalking away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Myles had a sudden feeling of déjà vu as Twilight repeated the same phrase she'd used earlier. Though it seemed to be laced with concern, Myles could still hear the impending scolding prepped behind it and he turned away, heading directly for the forest and towards the sunset.

"Hey! Get back here- oof!" Twilight had followed close behind him as he entered the forest, but just before getting inside he triggered the control crystal with his magic. He turned and saw Twilight picking herself up off the ground, having hit the barrier. "What the-?"

"I got him!" Rainbow yelled, diving for the barrier and bouncing off harshly and recovering in mid-air. "Owww…" Rainbow rubbed her head and sunk to the ground where Applejack was waiting.

"Serves ya right! Myles?"

Myles turned without a word. The girls called after him and watched as he lay down just on the other side of the barrier. He frowned and his horn lit up. The crystals that formed the detection barrier lifted from the ground and moved out of sight, further into the woods.

"Myles?" Twilight called out nervously.

"Go home."

"But-"

"Go home," Myles snorted, "Go back to your lives and just leave me alone."

"But Myles," Applejack pouted, "We need ya!"

"No," Myles huffed, "You're better off without me, you all proved that today. I'd have only slowed you down." Twilight looked hurt as she heard her own words flung back at her with such venom.

"What?! Why you-!" Rainbow flew forwards, forgetting about the barrier until she bounced off of it again. "Better off?! Do you know what we went through today?"

"You walked up a mountain and Fluttershy convinced the dragon to leave, exactly as Twilight said you would," Myles still hadn't turned around, but they saw his shoulders sag as he spoke.

"Ummmmm… no." a small voice said, causing Myles to turn around and see Fluttershy had stepped forwards. Myles looked skeptical.

"Really?"

"Oh… I suppose technically you could say it did go like that, but it really didn't."

Myles looked shocked, that was the longest sentence he'd heard Fluttershy speak without interrupting herself. Fluttershy seemed to take this as a cue, took a deep breath and continued.

"I'm afraid of dragons, but I didn't tell the others. They basically had to drag me up the mountain and I may have triggered an avalanche on the way, but they didn't give up on me. They all tried to move the dragon themselves, but they couldn't." She smiled a little, "it wasn't until the dragon threatened them that I found the courage to stand up to it."

"Good for you, Fluttershy," Myles rolled his eyes, "Proved my point exactly."

"Ummmmm… no. Actually, I was still scared out of my mind but I wanted to protect my friends so badly it didn't matter. I shudder to think what might have happened to them if I hadn't been there and wondered how much worse I'd feel if I'd been forced to stay behind. Of course, then I remembered Twilight had done exactly that to you."

Twilight stepped forwards, "I'm sorry Myles, I was only thinking of your safety and the mission, but I didn't realize how much pain it might cause to save you. And it was wrong of me to assume that you'd slow us down by fighting everything yourself."

"So?" Myles huffed again.

"What?"

"So you hurt my feelings. Oooooooh, that stings!" He groaned sarcastically, "It still doesn't change the fact that you were completely right to leave me behind. I'm still wounded from the last stupid mess I got myself into and you're dead right, I'd have stopped and kicked around every creature we met. I don't think about it, I just do it." His head sank onto his hooves, "and it only ever makes a huge mess and get myself hurt. I'm just lucky I didn't get anyone else hurt with my stupidity. I'm a liability and a waste of space."

"Myles," Rarity spoke up, "You could only be further from the truth if you actively drove it away. You would have been a massive help today and we're grateful for all that you've done for us, you've protected us and accomplished so much…" She raised her chin in defiance, "It was long past due for us to do something for you. It's not fair for us to depend on your strength when it costs you so much."

"But-"

"Just listen," Twilight interrupted, "I've seen you face down a manticore with a smile on your face. I watched you tell a thousand year old alicorn she'd have to kill you to stop you and then bring her to her knees using magic that you yourself said you couldn't preform. And you're smart, too. I watched you completely reinvent the way you do your job of protecting Ponyville in less than a minute after depriving yourself of sleep for months. And then you did it again after running across the Everfree forest, and then again while we were dealing with the dragon!"

"It didn't work out right though, I tried something and got something entirely different, it was only luck that it worked at all."

"I don't believe that at all," Twilight frowned, "Maybe you don't think you know what you're doing, but you do it anyways and you do it brilliantly, even if you take a few tries you don't take the time to worry about whether or not it'll work the next time, you just get up and try again until it's done. You obviously figured out several things with the newest barrier."

"Only that the last one was luck, I found it by accident."

"But you found it and figured it out, and once you did you improved on it and made it good enough to protect the whole town. Maybe it didn't work out like you wanted, but you made it work. Maybe it was intuitive, maybe you got it subconsciously, but I don't think so, do you want to know what I think?"

"What?" Myles asked flatly.

"I think those crystals realized you weren't going to give up and decided it'd be easier to cooperate rather than resist until you found out the specifics." Twilight grinned.

Myles chuckled lightly, still sniffing, then kept chuckling. Gradually it grew into a full laugh and kept escalating until he was rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach and shaking with laughter. "So what," he gasped between breaths, "You're saying I scared them into working?"

"Something like that," Twilight said with a smile, "I think those crystals believed in you as much as I did, as all of us do. I'm sorry for letting you think we didn't, I just wanted to help."

Myles got to his hooves and tapped the control crystal. Still shaking with laughter, he trotted across the threshold to meet the girls in a hug. He grinned as he pulled away, "Thanks everypony. Just one thing though," the girls looked at him curiously, "I get to go a few rounds with the next dragon before you figure out how to get rid of it, deal?"

Twilight smiled, "No promises."

**I hope this chapter still works. And that it's still a good read. It's the first one I've had to do a major rewrite on. See at first I didn't even put on the episode since I knew Myles wouldn't be a part of the main plot this time, I only brought it up later to get the brief dialogue at the beginning straight. So the story itself spun out of what Myles had to be doing while the girls were gone, which was finally upgrading the towns defenses. While I did that, I hadn't initially planned to have Twilight knock him out before they left. Once she had, I ran with it and…**

**Well I ran a bit further than I wanted to. Let's just say I wrote something out that I really liked and fit in with Myles character development, but it was too soon because of something that happened last episode and it almost felt a little contradictory. I kept some of it, like Twilights run down of all the crazy stupid stuff he's done and how they'd never have done any of that. But it was originally under a different context. I had begun to realize the awkwardness as I wrote that section and simply saved it as a draft before even getting to the part where they talked about doing it to protect him. While I do really like what was written before, I had to cut a good portion of it out because it didn't work at this time. However I still have the first draft saved, so when the time is right I can bring that stuff out where it makes sense.**

**I'm still unsure about this chapter, but I think I've dodged completely undermining my own character's development. He's humbled and then encouraged by his friends as he was supposed to be, instead of… well I can't talk about that.**

**Oh he'll still be stupid and brash when he's not thinking things through, so don't worry about that, but at least he knows this costs his friends as much as it does him and may be a bit smarter about it. Maybe. As I've said I'm writing most of this on the fly and up until this chapter it's all flowed nicely, so if things get out of hand I'll come back and fix this, but I'm satisfied for now and I hope you are as well.**

**And next chapter will contain a bit more crystal magic and a mostly non-serious plot, as I had intended to do after demolishing Myles' house, but this chapter sort've kept things serious longer than intended. I hope you're still enjoying this regardless.**

**-Dr Spacewizard Esq.**

**(Still not gotten any suggestions for acronyms and my mind is a blank on this point. What? You didn't think I was actually going to use "Bucknet," did you?)**


	8. Book 1- Ch 8

**Ah here we go, now I'm nervous. Can't tell you why of course. Gee, I'm doing that a lot lately aren't I? Sorry, I can't elaborate just yet, but I assure you it's only to make the story more fun and not to irritate you.**

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Look Before You Sleep or Purely Structural Bonds

"Applejack! Rarity!" Myles grumbled as he woke up to Twilight shouting outside. He gazed down at the crystal he'd been working on and frowned. It had once been two crystals, but was now fused into one, though in such a crude fashion that the place where the two crystals joined was clearly defined. They also still acted as two different crystals.

Looking up at the chalkboard he'd been using, he scratched his chin and considered what went wrong. He traced out the shape of the two crystals and then the result of his attempted fusion. He had deliberately chosen opposing colors to make progress easier to see, so he was able to accurately mark out the places where the crystals met. He listened to the two vastly different tones emitted from each crystal and a strange noise originating from the center. Myles sketched a bit more on the board before he yawned and made his way downstairs, quickly searching out a book on sound and cracking it open to check something as Twilight let Rarity inside.

"Woah nelly!" Myles heard Applejack say from outside, "Is inside a tree really the best place to be during a lightning storm?"

"It is if you have a magical lightning rod protecting your home like I do," Twilight smiled, "C'mon in!"

Myles waved at Rarity and Applejack, who didn't seem to notice him because of a heated discussion they were having. He shook his head and took the book he was reading upstairs, setting it down next to the crystal

Myles flinched as he heard Twilight's voice rose to a painfully high pitch and he looked over the railing to see the girls downstairs with green mud over their faces. He chuckled to himself as he spotted Twilight's copy of "Slumber 101: All you've ever Wondered about Slumber Parties, but were Afraid to Ask" open on her reading table. Twilight had shown him the book the first night he had stayed in her home and Myles had almost hated to turn her down given how excited she seemed to be about the subject. He managed to get out of it by bringing up his injuries and the fact that normally that sort of activity was restricted to girls. Twilight had seemed offended at first, but fortunately the book seemed to agree with Myles for some important reasons that Twilight refused to divulge when asked. She'd also seemed nervous when he asked, so Myles had dropped the subject fairly quickly.

Thunder boomed outside, causing Myles to flinch again. Presumably Rarity and Applejack were now stuck here and had cooperated to humor Twilights enthusiasm. He chuckled again and returned to his work.

He eyed the gap in the crystal closely. The intention had been to use the vibration generated by the magic to make the crystals more malleable so they could be joined. Without direction, the latent energy could theoretically destabilize the crystalline structure enough to allow the two to be bonded along similar lines, at which point the energy would be allowed to flow freely between them and would eventually cause the two pieces to grow back together. Hopefully, this process could be used to repair crystals that he lost to mistakes in his research. He'd already lost a fourth of the Princess' first delivery to such experiments and realized he couldn't continue without trying to repair them in order to not strain the limits of Celestia's generosity. Once he'd thought of the idea, it also occurred to him that success would mean the ability to make larger crystals that could feasibly channel more powerful magic. Right now the spells were limited in power and complexity because the crystals could only contain so much energy without the waves overlapping and disrupting each other, which overloaded the crystals until they shattered violently.

The breakthrough had also inspired a few more ideas for Myles, which he now kept recorded on the third crystal attached to his armband, a simple audio recording and playback spell allowing him to keep track of his ideas. Twilight had suggested he write all these things down, but he insisted it was a waste of time until he could confirm his theories and make any of the ideas work.

Myles consulted the book for more information and the nature of wave transmissions and pulled his armband up, tapping the recording crystal. "Crystal bonding note: try forcing waves over gap to properly align the structure. Magic may help bridge the molecular gap and create bonds." He tapped the crystal again and his horn lit up as he prepared to test this. He stopped when he felt something prod his shoulder. He turned around to see Twilight, secretly grateful she had removed the mud mask. He noticed her skin did seem rejuvenated, as the mask was supposed to be able to do, but Myles thought that might have to do with her current mood than anything else as she grinned at him and tried not to laugh.

"Myles," she whispered, "I know you're not supposed to be involved in this, but can you help me out with something?"

Myles shrugged, "Sure, what do you need?"

Myles' pressed his lips together tightly to keep himself from laughing as he waited behind the pile of books Twilight had indicated. He listened carefully for his cue.

"What's next? Ooh!" Twilight spoke excitedly and convincingly. Myles was actually impressed with how genuine her surprise sounded, even though he had caught Twilight reading the book a few times before and knew she must've read it from cover to cover by now. "It says here we have to tell ghost stories! Who wants to go first?" She asked the other two excitedly.

"Me!" Applejack raised her hoof and dived directly into her story, "I'd like to tell y'all the terrifying tale of the prissy ghost, who drove everypony crazy with her unnecessary neatness! Ooooooooooh!" Myles frowned, he hadn't spent much time with Applejack personally, but given her upbringing he had assumed she had heard a ghost story before. This one sounded more like a joke. "I'm sure y'all are familiar with that one?" She said as she narrowed her eyes at Rarity.

"Never heard of it," Rarity replied curtly, "But I have a much better one. It's the horrifying story of the messy, **_in_**considerate ghost, who irritated everypony within a hundred miles! OooOOOOoooooo-oooh!" Rarity finished rather lamely as it began to dawn on Myles that either they were still upset with each other or had only ever heard two of the most conveniently worded and boring ghost stories ever to have existed.

"That's not a real story," Applejack interjected rudely, "You made it up!"

"It is a ghost story," Rarity spoke matter-of-factly, "They're all made up!" Myles had to place a hoof over his mouth to keep from laughing. One point for Rarity, he thought just before lightning flashed again and the lights went out. Twilight turned on a flashlight and shone it up into her face.

"I've got one," she began excitedly as she set a lantern down on the floor and put away the flashlight, "This story is called… the Legend of the Headless Horse! It was a dark and stormy night, just like this one. And three ponies were having a slumber party, just like this one." Myles clamped his jaw shut as Twilight trailed off for maximum creepiness. He managed to keep himself in check as she continued, relaxing until she began to wrap it up. "And just when the last pony thought she was safe… there, standing right behind her… just inches away was… the HEADLESS HORSE!" Twilight shouted the last part as Myles leapt out from behind the books and reared up on his back legs, being careful to keep the sheet over his head as instructed. He waved his forehooves about in the air and was satisfied to hear a scream from Applejack and Rarity each. He even thought he heard Twilight gasp a little before he fell onto all fours and she tugged the sheet from his head.

"Thanks Myles," Twilight giggled as she and Myles hoof-bumped in victory at their successful prank.

"No problem, Twilight," he said as he made his way back upstairs.

He checked his note crystal to remind himself where he was before resuming his work. His forehead began to sweat as he carefully pushed energy between the crystals and after a short time he was pleased to see the dividing line between them had gotten narrower and some of the colors had blended at the line of bonding. He wiped his brow and was going to begin again when Twilight tapped him on the shoulder. As he turned around, she pressed something into his hoof before throwing her forelegs around his neck and hugging him.

"Thanks again, Myles," she said as she pulled back, she seemed thoughtful for a moment, "Don't feel you have to stay up here either, you're welcome to join in the fun!"

Myles glances down at the object in his hand and sniffed, evidently they had made s'mores. He grinned when he replied, "It's fine Twilight. Your book says no boys and I know you like to do everything by the book, so thanks for letting me help with the ghost story and for the s'more, but you can pretend I'm not even here if you want." She smiled at him as he pushed the s'more into his mouth before turning back to his crystals. She threw one leg around him and hugged him again, briefly pressing her cheek to his and then taking off downstairs. Myles shook his head and resumed his work as he finished chewing the s'more.

Over the next several minutes, he managed to get the crystals to fuse a little more but felt tired once again as he did. He frowned and resisted the temptation to look downstairs as he heard raised voices, but left the girls to their party as he grabbed another crystal and used it to store some energy. He directed the crystal to the line between the other two and used it to build up and focus the energy at the other two. The line had almost completely disappeared by now and he grinned as he listened to the crystals hum at almost the same tone. The gap acted much the same way as a large impurity in disrupting the flow of magic somewhat, but the crystals were technically one now. With some refinement and practice, he could perfect the process and fix or recombine crystals at will. He tapped his note crystal and began to speak, "Crystal Bonding note: channeling magic along the gap does indeed align the structures, try doing this before crystals make contact to see bonding resul-OOF!"

His head pitched forward as he was struck from behind. He tapped the note crystal, figuring he had enough to go on and rounded on his attacker only to see Rarity and Applejack caught up in an enthusiastic pillow-fight downstairs. He glanced behind him and picked up the errant pillow with his magic. He debated on who to aim for when he saw Twilight get hit multiple times and collapse under a pile of pillows between the other two. He redirected one of Rarity's pillows to go around Twilight and towards Applejack. Then he flung his own pillow at Rarity. He pumped his hoof in victory as both ponies were knocked over from the force of impact. Twilight burst out from between the pillows and spat out a few feathers, "Maybe we should just call it a night and get some sleep."

Myles pushed his worktable and the chalkboard to the side as the girls cleaned up their mess and came upstairs. Applejack and Rarity both playfully punched him in the shoulder as they passed. At least he thought they meant it to be playful, neither of them had smiled but their anger still seemed directed towards each other. He was about to say something to cheer them up when he realized they had both angrily flopped down into the guest bed. Well, Applejack flopped, Rarity squeezed herself in between the sheets, but she did so angrily. Myles would have laughed if he hadn't been so concerned with the problem this presented. He stopped Twilight as she passed by and spoke quietly so as not to disturb the others.

"Ummm, Twilight?"

"Yeah?"

"Where am I supposed to sleep?"

"Where do you think Myles? In the guest bed, of cou-oh!" She stopped as she looked over and saw the bed occupied. A strange expression crossed her face as she looked up at Myles again. "Well… I guess you'll have to bunk with me, that's okay, right?" She laughed oddly as she gestured over to the bed and invited him to get in first. He tenderly got in and scooted as far as he could towards the edge, not wanting to crowd Twilight or otherwise make her uncomfortable. He flipped over so his back was facing towards the middle of the bed and shifted a little as he felt the bed move when Twilight got in and tightened the covers over them both. He jumped a little as one of Twilight's hooves brushed against him and he could have sworn he heard her giggle a bit.

He had considerable trouble getting to sleep, not just because of the arrangements, but also kept awake by his own thoughts. He didn't care much for what people thought of him, having had too much experience with trying and failing to live up to pony's expectations of him as a child, but he was concerned with what people might assume because of this. Rarity and Applejack were too focused on each other at the moment to have noticed, but eventually the fact that Myles and Twilight were sharing a bed would be noticed. Applejack might see the practical angle, but undoubtedly Rarity would read too much into the situation and spread rumors. He'd dealt with rumors before but he didn't want to complicate Twilight's life with them. The idea of her and him… together hadn't really occurred to Myles previously.

Certainly he'd noticed she looked pleasing and he enjoyed her company, but she'd always been a friend in the short time they'd known each other. He thought back on the many times she had hugged him and wondered if there had been something more to them, then he shook his head. She had hugged the others on several occasions and the others had hugged him as well. They were friends, nothing more. Myles remembered earlier when she'd pressed her cheek to his and the warmth he'd felt at that contact. His cheeks burned a bit as he recalled it but again he put it down to them being friends and her good mood tonight. She'd been so upset with him when she thought he was tricking people about being good with crystals and he had finally caught on in the past few weeks that his presence was grating on her nerves.

No, they were friends and that was all. As he thought this, Myles couldn't help but feel saddened and his cheeks burned again as he realized this. Uh oh. He tried to drive the thought of her from his mind, but suddenly couldn't think of anything except all the times they'd been close, this caused him to squirm nervously.

Okay, Myles thought, so you like her, no biggie. But she's still a friend and if you say or do anything about it that might change. If he wanted to keep their friendship intact he'd just have to be careful around her from now on. Myles resolved to think more on crystals to distract himself. She didn't know and he was alert to the situation, so everything would be fine. He'd just act as though nothing had changed and everything would be fi-

Myles eyes bugged out as he felt a leg come to rest over his neck. He tried to slow his breathing and keep calm. Listening carefully, he could hear Twilight breathing slowly and peacefully, meaning she was asleep. Okay, so after tonight, which was going to continue being incredibly tense and awkward, then everything would be fine.

Myles persisted in keeping himself still and calm, but he had increasing trouble as he heard a hissed argument from the guest bed. He couldn't make out the voices, but he heard rustling of sheets as they evidently fought over bed space. He gulped as he felt Twilight stir, keeping himself absolutely still. He finally let out a sigh of relief as she removed her hoof but he quickly tried to disguise it as the soft breathing of sleep. He placed a hoof over his eyes as he heard Twilight and the others talking, being careful to keep his breathing steady and his eyes relaxed as he feigned sleep. He extended his hoof to cover his ears as Twilight began to shout at her other friends.

Despite this, Myles was more comfortable than he had been all night and actually started to doze off for real when he felt a sudden draft and instinctively pulled the covers tighter around him. He held his breath as he waited for Twilights reaction, but he realized she was still speaking to the others. He contemplated "waking up" to see what was going on, but before he could the sheets were ripped off of him and replaced with something wet and scratchy. Myles' eyes flipped open and he looked down to see himself pinned to the bed by… a tree branch?

Looking around, he saw the entire upper level of the library covered in pieces of a tree. His ears were filled with the howling of the wind so he couldn't hear his friends, but he was relieved to see them all standing amid the branches. He attempted to clear the debris off his chest, but found it was too heavy and probably braced against the wall. He was about to call out when the branch suddenly disappeared in a magical flash and was replaced with a small, artful shrub. He sat up and took a deep breath.

"Myles!" Twilight threw her hooves around his neck again and Myles looked away to hide the redness spreading across his face. "Are you alright?"

"Ye- yeah," he stuttered, then shivered to keep up an act. "Just cold that's all. Everypony else okay?"

The others answered that they were and seemed fully awake, so they elected to continue their party and asked if he wanted to join. He faked a yawn and declined politely, which caused the girls to giggle a bit. He rolled over and shut his eyes as they went down stairs. He wrapped the covers loosely around him to keep himself warm but leave room for Twilight. As soon as he thought of Twilight next to him, however, his cheeks burned again and he loosened the covers a bit. He heard giggling from downstairs and covered his ears, determined to be asleep before Twilight and the others finished the second half of their party. Between the relief of being alone in the bed and the fatigue from being awake up to now, he managed to drift into slumber relatively quickly.

When he awoke the next day, Twilight had already woken up and the others had gone back home after the storm ended. He didn't dare ask Twilight if she'd gotten back into the same bed as him, fearing his expression would give something away. Just act like before and it'll be fine, he thought to himself. Yeah, he couldn't help thinking afterwards, because everything always works out fine for me…

**Woo! Finally! Gotta admit I've been looking forwards to this episode for a few reasons. For one, it's my favorite episode from season one, because Applejack and Rarity get more character in this episode and they play off each other wonderfully, its one of the funnier ones and we get to hear Rarity's over the top "it is on!" **

**Also, I knew I had wanted Myles in this episode, not only because it's a favorite of mine, but also because it put him in close proximity to Twilight, setting him up for the realization about his feelings for her. Only on rewatching the episode did I realize that Twilight had a guest bed, which I started Myles off using a little earlier, and even better, that said bed would be full with Rarity and Applejack occupying it. I wasn't sure how it would go, only that it would be awkward and hopefully fun to read. Originally he wasn't going to even fully realize anything this episode, but I've been sneaking in (hopefully) subtle hints of affection in the past few chapters and it just came out that way. Of course, now the real fun begins. Don't get your hopes up for him to confess his feelings anytime soon, Myles is pretty good at keeping a secret, but things will still get uncomfortable for him as he hides this.**

**Man I hope you're still reading this, the further in I get the more excited I get about getting close to stuff I have planned and the more I like how stuff works out when I wing it. It's pretty safe to say by now that I'm gonna keep going.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	9. Book 1- Ch 9

**Not sure about these next couple of chapters. Then again, I was unsure of even starting this. Take from that what you will.**

**I don't own My Little Pony**

Bridle Gossip or Silence Will Fall

"Wow, what a gorgeous day!" Twilight mused out loud.

"Rainbow Dash must've gotten up early for once and cleared all the clouds away." Spike speculated from his back. Myles chuckled a bit, following behind Twilight as they walked through town.

The other two continued talking as he tried to focus on new ideas for his crystals. His efforts to figure out the unique properties of the materials and their applications for magic had redoubled in the last few weeks. For now they were only hampered by his lack of a house, a problem which would soon be fixed if the half-built tower at the edge of Everfree Forest was any indication. He had designed parts of it himself and initially he had planned to build it using crystals to set pieces in place. Twilight had talked him out of this and he had handed over his shoddy blueprints to professional construction ponies. They had said they could manage it and so far Myles was impressed with how closely they'd stuck to his design. Of course, Twilight had been right and a few things had had to be changed for practical and safety reasons. He was fairly certain Twilight had been smiling when she reminded him of this, but he wasn't sure if she was teasing him or not. Actually, Myles wasn't very sure of anything concerning Twilight Sparkle anymore.

That was the other reason he'd thrown himself into his research. He'd been having trouble looking Twilight in the eye since his realization concerning his feelings for her. Every time they spoke he felt on edge out of concern that she might find out and their friendship might crumble. Myles had previously had friends who had abandoned him and was not eager to feel that pain again, but this seemed even worse, the thought of her never speaking to him again filled him with dread. Over the course of trying not to think about her, he discovered several things he would miss about her if she shunned him. Her laugh, her smile, her tendency to completely overanalyze a problem scientifically before considering there might be a simple solution and any number of little things he found brightened his day every time he saw them.

He had almost rationalized himself into telling her, fearing that keeping this secret would tear apart their friendship as well, but then he had realized the situation was broader than the two of them. He and Twilight represented two of the Elements of Harmony, one of the most powerful forces known to ponykind and a tool essential to keeping ponies safe from magical threats. However, that force was based on the magic of friendship and Twilight had confirmed that the Elements wouldn't work if they stopped being friends. He had asked her hypothetically so as not to raise suspicion, but it confirmed what he'd feared. Twilight and he could never be anything more or less than friends, since one day the Fate of Equestria may depend on that connection.

So he continued hiding, keeping his distance from Twilight as much as possible while staying under the same roof with her. She tended not to disturb him when he worked on his crystals as he needed to be able to hear them to fine tune them. So whenever she was home he worked on his research to keep himself from spending too much time with her. When his home was finished, he'd have his own sanctuary away from the problem, so Myles told himself every day that it would get easier. So far, he hadn't fooled himself at all.

"Is it… zombies?!" Spike asked in fear, finally catching Myles attention again. He looked around and wondered what they were discussing when they heard a "Psst!" from the house nearby.

In short order, the three of them had been dragged into the house by Pinkie Pie, who revealed that the rest of their friends were present as well, evidently hiding from a mysterious figure outside. He kept an eye on the figure in question, who seemed to be guilty of nothing other than having strange patterns on her coat and pawing at the ground. The girls had continued their discussion without him.

"That's just it," Applejack spoke with a shiver, "She lives in… the Everfree Forest!"

"What?" Myles head snapped round as he turned his attention to her, not even flinching when Spike knocked over several pots and pans and created a loud crash.

"The Everfree Forest just ain't natural!" Applejack continued without acknowledging Myles, "The plants grow!"

"Animals care for themselves!" Fluttershy added.

"And the clouds move…" Rainbow Dash began before the three of them finished with

"All on their own!"

Myles shook his head and tapped his detection crystal, checking the perimeter as the others speculated about this Zecora. His ear twitched in irritation, not at Pinkie Pie's sudden singing, but at what his detection barrier showed. Then he remembered something else.

"The cottage," he said simply as the others turned to him.

"What?"

"One of the times I went into the forest, I was being pursued by timberwolves and I spotted a thatch-roofed cottage built around and into a tree. It was in good shape and there was a light on. Must've been hers…"

"See? A little strange," Twilight said triumphantly, "but she's just like the rest of us."

"Except that was months ago," Myles continued, turning to see the others' expressions of apprehension, "and I never found it again."

"Even her house is enchanted!" Pinkie cried.

"She is not an enchantress!" Twilight yelled angrily. Myles brought up the display of the perimeter for all of them to see. Twilight looked at Myles with an irritated expression, "What?"

"No alerts," he said nervously, "It's detected nothing all day long. How'd she get in without setting the system off?"

"Maybe she walked around?" Twilight suggested.

"How would she know there was something to walk around?" Myles asked with increasing volume and urgency, "Yeah I didn't exactly hide the crystals but if she was staring at her hooves the whole way out of the forest, she'd have been eaten by something. Even if she'd tripped over one I would've been notified…" Myles continued speculating to himself as he headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Twilight demanded.

"Gotta check the perimeter, if she disabled it somehow… Ponyville might already be in danger!" He galloped outside and headed directly for the forest.

When he neared the tree line, he spotted a yellow and red filly running ahead of him and gave chase. He glanced briefly at his crystal as it pinged a warning for the filly crossing the barrier just inside the forest. Frowning, he continued to follow, even if the perimeter was working, he had to keep her from attracting attention from anything living in the woods. If it weren't for the dozens of peaceful animals that made their way in and out of the forest each day, he'd seal it off permanently. Not that it would ensure the town's safety, he thought as he spotted another figure ahead of the one he was chasing, this one had stripes and a cloak. He struggled to remember the name of Applejack's younger sister.

"Apple!" he shouted after her, hoping her name also contained the name of the fruit her family was famous for. Evidently it did, because the filly skidded to a stop and looked round. As he continued galloping forwards, the cloaked figure turned towards them. Its eyes seemed to glow an eerie yellow as they narrowed at the two of them.

"Guardian, you must stray no more!

You alone stand twixt these woods and war!"

Myles merely frowned at this as he skidded to a stop in front of Applejack's sister. He heard shouting behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see the girls were approaching as well.

"You okay?" he asked the filly.

"Ahm fine," she replied. He turned back to the zebra and began to charge at her. Applejack called out to her sister and the sound of hoof-beats let him know the others were right behind him. Suddenly the figure spoke again.

"Beware, beware you ponyfolk,

Those leaves of blue are not a joke!"

Applejack scooped her sister up and placed her on her back before shouting at the figure.

"Y- you keep your creepy mumbo-jumbo to yourself, ya hear!"

"Beware! Beware!" the figured intoned as it faded into the darkness.

The others continued to argue a bit as Myles glanced around. Zecora's words were unusually phrased, but they hadn't seemed to be malicious at all to Myles. He was still worried about the last phrase however, which had seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't figure out why. His ears stood straight in alarm as he heard something. A small sound came from beneath his hooves. He looked down only to be met with the blue petals of flowers he was standing in. He brushed some of them aside, looking for the source of the sound and still uncertain he was hearing correctly.

It sounded like laughter.

"Everything okay, Myles?" Twilight caught his attention and he looked up to find the others had gone, leaving him and Twilight alone in the field. Alone together. Myles eyes' widened at this thought as he looked away from Twilight.

"Ye- yeah…" he muttered, "I'm fine. Just tired that's all."

Twilight looked at him skeptically and he did his best to fake a smile. She shrugged and walked back towards town. Myles looked around and then checked the perimeter again, stretching a hoof through it and taking note of the red light that appeared on the projection. He frowned and stood for a few moments before heading back. For the rest of the night he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd missed two or three very important details about what just happened.

He dreamed of the crystal cave again that night. This time however, the crystals broadcast Zecora's words instead of their usual hum. Myles tried to tune them but whenever he did they increased in volume and more crystals sprung forth from the surface. The crystals filled the room, pressing in and trapping him. Before encasing him completely they harmonized to repeat one last phrase.

"You alone stand twixt these woods and war!"

Feeling a hoof poke him in the side, Myles eyes' snapped open and he rolled off the bed again. As he pulled himself upright he realized something was very wrong. His sheets didn't rustle and he couldn't hear voices, yet someone had woken him. He untangled himself from the covers and threw them at the bed. He spotted Twilight looking at him with concern and mumbling something he couldn't make out.

What? He asked Twilight and she flinched, her ears leaning back and a wince crossing her face as though he had shouted at her. She looked a little grumpy and her mouth moved once more. Myles stood with his mouth agape.

All he heard was silence.

He desperately ground a hoof into his ear, trying to remove an obstruction that didn't seem to exist. He reared up and stomped on the floor, hoping for the reassuring sound of hooves striking wood. His ears drooped and his face fell as he sank back onto his haunches in shock and breathed heavily. He was completely deaf. He began to breathe faster as this realization hit him, panting heavily as he thought of the fact that he could no longer defend the town, tune crystals or hear any of his friends' voices again. He'd never hear Twilight laugh again. This last realization brought tears to his eyes and he desperately wished he could hear himself sniff in sadness at his new life.

His eyes snapped back into focus as he felt Twilight's hooves wrap around his shoulders and pull him into a tight embrace. He blinked the tears away, ashamed of himself for showing such weakness in front of Twilight. Then he nearly broke down again. He'd shouted at her a minute ago and that would be the last thing approaching a conversation they ever had. He strained to feel the volume of his voice and kept his lips tight as he muttered as quietly as he could.

"I'm sorry."

Twilight pulled away from their hug, her mouth moved and she looked apologetically at him. His eyelids drooped as he pointed as his ear and shook his head. She nodded sadly, causing her horn to flop around a bit. Myles spotted it for the first time and pointed at the drooping, spotted protrusion from Twilight's head, managing to stop himself from shouting in surprise. Twilight looked unsettled by the situation as she nodded again. He pulled her back in for a hug and after they parted, they both went downstairs.

Twilight began searching her library frantically. Myles knew she must be looking for a cure, but he didn't know the library as well as she did. He searched a little at first but found he wasn't even in the right section, not to mention he had no idea what had caused this. He idly turned the pages of the book in front of him to distract himself from the fact that he couldn't help Twilight without interrupting her and trying to communicate. Myles head and shoulders sank in sorrow as the oppressive silence seemed to push at him from all sides.

He felt a hoof on his shoulder and looked up to see Rarity. His eyes widened as he took in the massive dreadlocks adorning her coat. She brushed them out of the way and pulled Myles into a hug. He felt her face move next to him and realized she must've spoken, at which point Rarity pulled back as his head sunk lower. She looked at him sadly and went to join the others, who were all evidently discussing the situation, each with their own unique ailment to contend with. He didn't see anything wrong with Fluttershy, but then he supposed he appeared normal as well. He returned his gaze to the book in front of him and sighed.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

Myles ears perked up as he heard a faint but deep voice, the first sound since waking up, and he looked around frantically for its source. The others looked at him for a moment in confusion. When he saw no pony else, he hung his head in sadness again.

"That woman's gotta be stopped!"

He perked up as he heard the voice again. The girls appeared to be in a heated argument but he couldn't hear any of them. Though he kept his ears and eyes alert as he searched for the source of the voice.

"I dunno, seems awfully dangerous."

Myles gaped as he spotted the only mouth that matched up with the sentence he heard.

"Flutteryshy?" He mumbled. At least he thought he had mumbled, though everyone turned as if they had heard him.

"What?" Fluttershy asked in confusion.

"I can-" Myles stopped as everyone in the room flinched, he continued in the quietest voice he could produce, "I can hear Fluttershy." The girls leaned forwards, straining to understand him. Twilight was nearest and her eyes widened as she had evidently understood. She turned and said something to Fluttershy. Who looked back to Myles.

"You can hear me?"

Myles nodded eagerly and grinned, glad he wasn't completely deaf. The other girls seemed to be searching desperately for something. Pinkie Pie lifted Myles off the ground and searched under him, putting him down when she was satisfied the object wasn't there.

"Oops. Sorry." He heard Fluttershy say as she went to help Rainbow Dash, who appeared to be having trouble flying, then she turned to Spike, "Spike? You coming?"

Myles never heard his answer, but figured he wasn't as the dragon didn't follow him out the door. He prodded Fluttershy and she jumped and turned around. He pointed at the others and shrugged.

"Oh, we think Applejack and Applebloom went looking for Zecora's hut, we're going after them."

Myles nodded and followed them into the woods. Partway in, Fluttershy turned and pointed at the bracer around his hoof. The detection system had gone off when they'd entered, but Myles hadn't heard it. He tapped the crystal to acknowledge the alert and silence the crystal, even though he couldn't hear it. His head drooped as he thought of pitching the useless device into the woods and though better of it. Surely someone else would be able to make use of it.

After a long trek through the woods, Myles apologized quietly as he had walked directly into Fluttershy. She excused him and he looked ahead to find the girls arguing again, likely over the supposed location of Zecora's hut. Myles looked past them into the woods and spotted a ravine a short distance away. His eyes widened as he shouted in surprise.

He remembered this place. The memory was vivid as he galloped forwards, following the same route he had taken previously, only with his friends following close behind instead of a pack of hungry timberwolves. He had run straight to the ravine, turning himself parallel to it and then kicked behind him with his back hooves. He remembered the satisfying howl and clatter of a wolf falling into the gorge and shattering at the base. Myles sprinted forwards, following the cliffs edge like he was still being chased. Spotting a fallen tree spanning the gap, he crossed it and remembered the hollow sound of wooden claws colliding with rotten bark. He ran up a nearby boulder and kicked off of its surface, landing on a higher cliff and smirking. Further down the cliff there was an overhang of rock that he eagerly squeezed himself under, stopping for a second to grab a paw shaped piece of wood jammed into the narrowest part of the gap. He ran up the short incline that followed and grinned.

He turned around to see the others panting as they caught up, Twilight appeared furious as she stalked up and her mouth opened wide and shut several times. Evidently she was shouting at him. He merely stood there and looked impatient until she stopped and looked him in the eyes, seeming to be waiting for an answer. He merely grinned and nodded his head towards something over his shoulder. Twilight's irritation changed to surprise as she glanced behind him and saw a thatch-roofed hut built partway into a tree. She said something else and then looked at Fluttershy.

"She says sorry."

Myles just shrugs.

"They want to know how you found it again."

Myles holds out his hoof with the timberwolf paw on it as an answer. The girls finally seem to understand and they all turn towards the hut. The lights are on and the group makes its way to Zecora's window. After spotting the zebra inside, the girls talk amongst themselves a bit until Pinkie falls at Fluttershy's hooves, begging her for something. Myles holds his hooves over his mouth as he stifles his laughter at Fluttershy's version of Pinkie's enchantress song, which sounds like its being performed by a jazz musician.

Eventually the girls burst into Zecora's cottage, Rainbow Dash making a mess of the place. Myles follows them in but fails to understand what's being said until Fluttershy's voice catches his attention.

"You made me sound ridiculous!"

Myles looked shocked, he figured out they were accusing Zecora of their ailments, but that still didn't make sense to him. She'd said "Beware," hadn't she? Suddenly Myles remembered why that phrase sounded familiar.

"And you made him dea-" Fluttershy's deepened voice was cut off as Myles placed a hoof over it and shook his head. The girls looked perplexedly at him as he ducked to the ground and rose up again, spreading his hooves away from himself and slowly letting them spread wider. The others still look confused but then turn to Zecora as she speaks. Myles merely sits back and hopes that Zecora's words communicate things clearly to them as well as rhyming this time. After a bit Fluttershy turned back to him.

"The flower?"

Myles nods vigorously.

The rest of them seem to come to some sort of an agreement and they all return to Ponyville. Myles follows them sadly into town and tries to head towards the treehouse, but the girls pull him towards the local spa. He rolls his eyes and waits outside their room. After a few moments, Fluttershy comes out of the room and her mouth moves. Myles eyes start watering again as he hears silence. She looks worried as she says something else. When he doesn't reply, she returns to their room. Suddenly Rainbow Dash bursts out and drags Myles inside. He pushes back with all his might but can't get a grip on anything.

Myles face turns red as Rainbow flies around behind him and pushes him through the doors. He tries to look away from the tub where all of the girls are bathing, but Rainbow shoves him to the edge of it and then places her hooves on his head, shoving it under the water. He pulls his head out of the water, spitting and sputtering as he comes up.

"-estly Rainbow, you could have waited for someone to get some paper."

"But you guys wouldn't stop whining about how sad he looked."

Myles stood there stunned a moment.

"CAN YA HEAR YET MYLES?!" Pinkie Pie screamed causing everyone to flinch and Myles to fall back from the tub and cover his ears in pain. Beyond the ringing in his ears he picks up laughter from everypony in the room.

"Yeah," he mumbles, his eye's squeezed shut in pain, "Yeah I think I can, thanks."

He sits up and when he looks at the girls he remembers where he is. His face turns crimson.

"Sorry," he excuses himself quickly to an uproar of laughter, secretly glad that he can hear it again.

Just outside, he finds Zecora chuckling to herself.

"Greetings, brave guardian,

Are you glad to hear again?"

He laughs a bit as well, "Yeah, its nice to know there's a cure for Poison Joke."

"My knowledge of your past is scant,

How did you hear about this plant?"

He frowns a bit, "Dad made me go camping with the other colts outside South Flankston. Didn't really enjoy it but I remember a few things. Like the rhyme they taught us for poisonous plants.

Purple and grey hues will make you croak, leaves of blue make a sad excuse for a joke."

He recited and sighed.

"The cure for poison joke has long been known,

Did they lack this knowledge where you were grown?"

Myles frowned, "Probably not, but evidently they thought it'd be a laugh to leave that part out. Instead one of them told me that they knew somepony who'd stumbled into some poison joke and had to stand on their head for the rest of their days because their legs would sprout flowers whenever they touched the ground."

"Beauty on contact with the ground,

Does not such an awful fate sound."

"Oh the flowers didn't sprout out of the ground." Myles laughed bitterly, "Thinking back now, I guess I should've figured out they were lying, but I could never tell when they were pulling my leg."

"Do not fault the cruelty of foals,

They know not the power they hold."

Myles raised an eyebrow at her.

"One who tries to perfectly rhyme will soon find themselves lacking extra time."

He chuckles a bit, "Alright alright, thanks anyways. One thing though, how'd you get past my barrier without setting off the crystals?"

"The noisy stones of which you talk,

Can be fooled by simple chalk."

"Chalk?"

"Rhythm fades in these and other unstable stones,

It's softness absorbs the very life of tones."

"Good to know, thanks," Myles begins to leave but then stops, "You can hear them too?"

"A welcome melody to our ears,

Heard only from relics of the Empire's years."

"You have relics from the Crystal Empire?" Myles asked eagerly.

"Alas, now we do not,

By another they were bought."

Myles head hangs in disappointment, "Figures…," he turns to leave again.

"Remember what we said before," Myles looks around curiously when she hesitates. The spa owner asks Zecora for the recipe for the bath that cured the poison joke, but she spares a meaningful glance for Myles before returning to the inner room of the spa. Myles thinks a bit and then something clicks into place.

"You alone stand twixt the woods and war?" he mumbles to himself. He frowns as he leaves the spa and heads for the edge of the forest. "Was really hoping for that part to have been another joke."

**Okay, so there's that done. Not sure how to feel about it still. On the one hand having to write Zecora's rhymes led me to a few new ideas, some of which I liked, on the other hand I then punished myself by giving Myles multiple reasons to talk to Zecora at the end of the episode.**

**I think it's safe to say she won't be having any extra dialogue anytime soon. **

**I'm still not entirely satisfied with Zecora's way around Myles defenses, and I think it'll turn out to have been more complex than just covering the crystals with chalk, but the idea of chalk as a sound dampener might still be useful. On writing this though, I sort've panicked when I realized that not only had I not thought of the solution by the time I got to that part, but that because Zecora was saying it, it had to rhyme. **

**I get the feeling I'm not going to be able to write down all of season one on the fly as I have been. Twenty three episodes seems like a lot less when you're just watching it than when you're writing it down with major alterations.**

**Also, I promise I didn't have Myles go deaf just to avoid typing dialogue, but after his hearing became a plot point I decided that taking it away would be the likely thing for the poison joke to do. It wouldn't matter much if it took his magic like Twilight, since he doesn't use it exclusively and probably had a bunch of crystals prepped for such a situation. Also I would've felt awful about reusing something one of the others had already. The real clincher was the idea that Flutterguy's voice was deep enough for him to hear anyways, which was just funny to think of, if not easy to make fun in the story.**

**I'd just like to point out that Spike and Pinkie Pie mention zombies in this episode and Twilight promptly calls them out for believing it. Thought of from an in universe perspective and not as a children's cartoon, this makes no sense at all. Which I'm guessing is probably why the concept is never mentioned again. The way that Spike and Pinkie react indicates there's fiction out there in their world that portrays such things. This is brought up in an episode with an individual from a far-off land. If I remember correctly, zombies were originally ordinary people that Voodoo practitioners deprived of air until they lost enough brain cells to be obedient. Twilight eventually buys into the fear of Zecora from the others, going as far as believing she has actually eaten Applebloom. As a scholar who has read about the far-away lands Zecora hails from, shouldn't she have read about this before? So perhaps she meant there are no zombies as our world portrays them, the rotting, flesh-craving husk variety. But even then that's a stretch, since you have beings like Discord running around and an accessible opening to TARTARUS and you're telling me NO ONE has ever managed to create an undead monster? Actually, given the proximity of the above, I'm surprised there aren't herds of zombie ponies stalking the lands outside of Equestria.**

**Maybe they're saving that for season 6.**

**Oh hey, I mentioned Myles' family… and I really wish I could say I planned that, but I didn't. Just wanted to tie that into real life stuff I learned in Boy Scouts, "Leaves of three, let it be."**

**Everyone insisted that the next line was "Leaves of four, eat some more," but no one ever said that part with a straight face, so I figured they were joking about that bit.**

**And I realized that Myles not knowing about Poison Joke is a bit of a stretch, but him forgetting about it might not be as much, even though he had a rhyme to help him remember. In my defense, there have been three seasons hence with many forays into the Everfree Forest and no one has ever stumbled into it again. My guess is there was that one patch and somepony set fire to it after this episode. Can't decide if it was Rainbow Dash or Rarity. Maybe both. You can never be too sure.**

**Oh look, I also dropped a reference to the Crystal Empire in there, clumsy me. Ah well, it seems to fit. Was gonna continue not mentioning it, but Twilight wasn't in the room and I wanted to remind myself of something I'm looking forwards to. How am I not even halfway into season 1?**

**Sorry for the rambling outro. The chapter you just read probably isn't the same one I typed right before this long author's note, I'm not entirely satisfied with it at present.**

**Later Note: I left the chapter mostly as I first typed it. Its not so bad and the chalk definitely isn't the first crystal thing I've put off until later to explain. Rest assured there will be more to it.**

**Besides, I'll never get through season one if I keep delaying and I've got my work cut out for me in the next chapter. Of course, by the time you read this, I'll have finished it, so go ahead and check it out.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	10. Book 1- Ch 10

**Okay, so I'm pretty nervous about this one because I've no idea how I'm gonna handle it. But I gotta keep going. Myles would keep going and so will I. Hopefully this chapter is up to par. If it's not, hang in there, I've got better stuff coming. I hope.**

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Swarm of the Century or Why Ignore Pinkie Pie?

"You checked the perimeter?" Twilight asked urgently. Myles simply rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Twilight," he said in frustration, "Zecora's workaround was temporary and the defenses are intact. Everything will be fine. Anything I can do to help here?" He asked, glancing around at the mess of a library.

"Yes," Spike said eagerly. Twilight frowned.

"Myles has his own job to attend to, Spike, we can't both-" Twilight stopped as Myles wrapped a hoof around her shoulder and led her to the door.

"Listen, Twilight," he opened the front door and guided her outside, "Ponyville is safe for now. Maybe you should check on the others and their preparations for the Princess' visit."

"Bu-"

"Lots to do, see you later!" He shut the door as politely as he could while still keeping Twilight outside. Peeking out the window, he waited until he saw her walk away to turn around.

"Right," he levitated a few books onto a shelf, "Let's get this place cleaned up."

"But those don't go there!" Spike cried in alarm.

"Probably not, no," Myles smirked, "but Celestia's not going to be checking out any books and Twilight will be too worried about her to notice until after she's left, so just get the books onto the shelves."

"But I'm Twilight's most trusted assistant! If I start putting things back in the wrong place-"

"You'll have plenty of time to reorganize them before Celestia leaves and if she finds some out of place, you can tell her I was rooting through them and put them back wrong. Like I have the past several times." He grinned.

"That was you!?" Spike shouted indignantly, "I had to put all those back!"

"Yeah, sorry Spike," he only looked slightly apologetic, "but it was worth it to see Twilight get flustered over something she couldn't explain."

"Oh sure, it was a barrel of laughs," Spike said sarcastically as he and Myles began to put the various piles of books onto the shelves.

Myles awoke to a chittering and squeaking sound. It made him wince as it assaulted his ears. He finally opened his eyes to see what was causing the noise.

He shut his eyes tight.

"Myles! Wake up!" He sat up as he heard Twilight shout, he blinked and rubbed his eyes, "Do you have any idea what these things are?" Twilight asked desperately.

He glanced around at the multitude of winged spherical creatures zooming about the library and shook his head.

"Nope. I was actually hoping that they weren't real," he sighed and got out of bed, "but of course they're real. Nothing's ever easy. Any idea where they came from?"

"Well I brought one home, Fluttershy had a few extra and the one was sooo cute."

Myles raised an eyebrow as he glanced about at the small creatures undoing all of his and Spike's work from the previous day.

"You had one?" He asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Spike confirmed, "I fed the little guy during the night, I dunno where these other ones came from."

"So Fluttershy brought one of these to you?" Myles asked as he shoo-ed one away from his music crystal. He bumped it and the creatures seemed to gather around it for a moment until he waved them away.

"Yes, she brought them into Sugarcube Corner and I took one home. She took the other two since Pinkie didn't want one. She'd said she found them at the edge of the Everfree Forest."

"Pinkie didn't want one?" Myles asked in shock, then did a double-take as he caught up, "The Everfree forest?!"

"Yes! Now help me get rid of them!" Twilight cried as she tried to gather some up, but as she looked around the door had shut. Myles was already gone.

They were tiny, that was why, Myles thought. He had deliberately tuned the detection field so that it let small creatures through without alerting him. Various docile or harmless creatures went in and out of the forest all the time, all of them relatively small, if he hadn't made the barrier exclude them he would never get any sleep because he'd be getting up at all hours to go check on a squirrel or beaver or something equally non-threatening. They could still set off the barrier if they stood in it for a few moments, but more often than not, they just dashed through it like it was nothing. These things that Fluttershy had brought back probably didn't stand still for that long.

He sighed in relief as he arrived at the tree line. Nothing was moving in the forest.

"Everything's going fine, Mr. Shadsore."

"Shardsole," Myles corrected automatically as he turned to see a pony in a hard hat walking away from the half-built tower sitting where his home had been.

"One question though," the pony raised a hoof to tilt his hat away from his eyes, "you sure you want the basement dug deeper? We could save time and bits by skipping the foundation and building it on the rocks as they are."

"That's how my last house was built and yes, I need the basement."

"Alright alright," the other pony seemed irritated, "Like I said, we'll follow your designs as best as we can, but it doesn't make a lick of sense to me."

"That's fine," Myles said distractedly, "Listen, I've got official business to attend to, we can talk later."

"Yeah yeah," the other pony rolled his eyes and made his way to the construction site.

Myles edged towards the perimeter and brought up the projection of it. He ran the timer back to yesterday morning. Nothing the whole time. He frowned, they were too small to detect, but if the number he'd seen in Twilight's house had come through, they'd have set off the alarm.

So any new creatures had to have come from the original one Fluttershy brought back. Myles eyelid twitched as this sunk in. If they multiplied that fast, there'd be tens of thousands of them by nightfall. As he turned around, he spotted the girls rolling a large ball comprised of tiny wings and spheres towards him.

He galloped towards them and ran alongside Twilight. "Twilight, there isn't any more of them coming from the forest, but they can multiply faster than anything I've ever seen!"

Twilight frowned at him, "We know. Thanks for your help, by the way."

"I had to make sure there weren't more coming in!" Myles protested.

"You should have helped me deal with the ones we had!"

"They look like insects! I thought there was a hive somewhere that the first one had called them from, I was going to stop the problem from getting bigger! But it's worse than that, they're not hive-minded-"

"They just eat, we know!" Twilight shouted at him. He recoiled a bit but kept galloping along with her. Suddenly he noticed something pink on his other side.

"Pinkie! There you are! I need to talk to you!"

"No time," Pinkie said as she galloped alongside them, she looked at Twilight, "I need you to help me find some maracas!"

"Maracas? Pinkie we've got much bigger problems than missing maracas!"

Pinkie gasped, "You're right, getting a tuba has to be our priority! Follow me!"

Twilight kept going and Myles glanced at her curiously. "Aren't we going with her?"

"NO! It's just Pinkie being Pinkie! We have to get this resolved before the Princess arrives!"

Pinkie herself appeared again, "I said 'follow me!'"

Rainbow flew up alongside them, "Pinkie Pie, you are so random."

"And you are all so stubborn!" Pinkie cried as she peeled off from the group. Myles glanced at Twilight, who frowned at him. "What?" she snapped.

"She might know what she's doing," Myles said.

"She's Pinkie Pie! She does whatever she feels like even if it isn't helping!"

Myles sighs and runs after Pinkie Pie. Twilight shouted after him but he ignored her. He finally caught up to Pinkie Pie, galloping alongside her.

"What else do you need?"

Pinkie looked shocked for a moment, then she grinned. "Your Sharlsow-

"Shardsole."

"Shersloo sense must've told you I had the right idea! I'm after some cymbals but I'm going to need that tuba and a snare drum soon as well."

"Right, I'll get the tuba and drum and get back to you."

"Thanks Myles!" Pinkie shouted as he galloped off.

He had expected a tuba to be hard to find, but he found one as he checked the local music shop almost instantly, it had just finished being cleaned and repaired. He managed to convince the clerk that it was an emergency, his case helped somewhat when one of the creatures came in and began eating a violin. He inquired after a snare drum, but the shop was clean out.

He thought frantically, watching as the creatures tore apart houses. He wasn't sure what had happened, but apparently they weren't too picky about their food anymore. He skidded to a halt and turned around as he remembered something. He knew of an elderly stallion a few doors down from him that used to be a drummer for the military, hopefully he could be convinced to part with his drum.

He skidded to a stop in front of Pinkie's house, almost dropping the drum but leaning forwards on to his front hooves to stop it from tipping from his back. Before he could knock, the door burst open with Pinkie covered in various musical instruments standing on the doorstep. He looked back to gently lower the instruments to the ground, but found they were gone. When he looked back, Pinkie was already wearing them. He blinked in confusion, the tuba and snare drum were strapped onto her underneath the banjo and harmonica mount. He shook his head and decided never to ask.

"So they respond to music? What are they?"

"Parasprites! And yes, you can lead them along with a full band ensemble, do you think the force field can hold them back?"

"I'll need to adjust it, but it doesn't go all the way around…" He smiled suddenly, "I know how we can get rid of them for good. You're sure you can get all of them to follow?"

"Yeah!"

"Good, I'll be right back."

He dashed off to the cart full of crystals and grabbed a few, galloping back towards the center of town and meeting up with Pinkie Pie, who had started to play and was leading a column of bouncing parasprites through the town square. He walked alongside her, focusing his magic on the crystals in front of him and letting them soak up the music, ending the enchantment when Pinkie began to repeat the melody.

They spotted Princess Celestia at the edge of the forest. Pinkie kept playing, but Myles ran over to her in time to hear her speaking to Twilight and the others.

"…some sort of infestation over in Fillydelphia, I'm so sorry-"

"Your highness!" Myles bowed as he thought quickly, "Thank you for your continued support of my research, I'm afraid I have business to attend to, but I'd like to offer you this token of my gratitude," he pressed one of the crystals into her hoof, "something to keep you entertained during your journey and I'm so sorry you have to leave already. Talk to you more soon byeeeeeeee!" He trailed off as he galloped once more after Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie shot him a curious look as he caught up, "This way, cmon!"

She continued to play following him into the Everfree forest. Eyes shone from between the dark trees and glanced at the odd and noisy procession, but nothing pursued them save for the parasprites. Myles led Pinkie Pie to a familiar clearing and to the edge of the water.

The surface of the swamp was already churning as Pinkie continued playing, despite looking increasingly worried. The parasprites gathered around the edge of the water as she continued playing. Myles set down a crystal and tapped it, leaving it to continue playing Pinkie's song as he grabbed Pinkie and ran full tilt away from the swamp. They passed the last few parasprites in their little parade and were out of sight of the clearing when they heard the first rumble of the creature behind them.

"What was that?"

"Something I really hope to leave alone one day!"

Suddenly the music stopped and all that could be heard was frantic chittering and loud roars. Myles shuddered as he and Pinkie slowed down. They came to a stop at the edge of the forest, both of them panting to catch their breath. Myles was surprised to see Pinkie Pie tired, but then she'd escaped with a one-pony band on her back as well. They both slumped to the ground as the others rushed up to them.

"You knew about those all along?" Twilight asked Pinkie.

"Yeah, why do you think I was trying to get all this stuff?"

"And you figured it out," Twilight looked away shamefully after glancing at Myles, "I'm sorry about what I said to you."

"It's cool," He panted, "Did Celestia take the crystal with her?"

"Hey! Where is the Princess anyways?"

"She had to go," Rainbow smiled, "some sort of infestation in Fillydelphia."

"They have parasprites too? Oh well, have tuba, will travel!" Pinkie got to her feet but Twilight stopped her.

"I think she can handle it, besides, I'm pretty sure Myles already helped her out. She did take the crystal, by the way. Would I be right in assuming that Pinkie's song is stored on it?" Myles nodded. "Nice. Thanks for your help, both of you, and I'm sorry I doubted either of you."

They heard a loud roar from deep within the forest. Myles got to his feet and began walking away from the trees. When he had enough distance, he activated the barrier around the woods and began walking back to the library. The girls looked at the woods apprehensively as they followed. "What did you do with them?" Twilight asked nervously.

"I made them something else's problem," Myles said flatly, before turning with a grin, "We won't be seeing them again."

The others sighed in relief. Twilight and Pinkie started up a conversation about what had happened but Myles continued walking to the library. He had long ago stopped hearing the chittering noises, but the occasional roar still echoed through the woods. He almost felt bad for the little things. He glanced around town at the half-eaten buildings and debris and shook his head.

Almost.

**Okay, so a bit of a short chapter, sorry about that. I mean, I go up to 4000 words when I'm just winging it but I keep looking down at my word count and thinking "That's all?" while I'm writing this. But now it's done, and while it's not the best chapter, I don't have to worry about it anymore. **

**And boy was I. I mean, since they originate from the Everfree forest, the parasprites fall under Myles' jurisdiction, but I had no idea what to have him do about them.** **No one, not even Twilight can cope with them and the episode hinges on everyone ignoring Pinkie Pie.**

**I think I might have liked this episode when I saw it originally, but on repeat watchings it never sat well with me. It sort of feels like its trying to imitate the episode of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends about the scribbles, but that episode was executed so much better. Not to mention in order for this to work everyone has to IGNORE PINKIE PIE. I get that it's still season 1 and they aren't the best of friends yet, but they let her try making the dragon laugh earlier and they know she's not as foolish as she appears already. The worst part is, when she first sees them, Pinkie Pie calls them Parasprites, which Twilight repeats and then promptly forgets. Pinkie Pie had information, however little, about the things causing all the problems this episode and NO ONE bothers to ask her about them. Twilight gets handed the idiot ball for this episode and its irritating to watch. Even if the instrument gathering was unrelated the topic still should have come up on the few occasions when Pinkie crossed their paths while they were dealing with the infestation.**

**Oh and let's not forget that, though Pinkie Pie leads them pied piper-style into the forest, there's nothing stopping them from coming back in the original episode. So I took out some of my frustration with these inconsistencies by feeding them to the swamp monster. Hey look! I filled in a plot hole! And it wasn't even mine!**

**One thing I did like about preparing to write this chapter was coming to the realization that this is the first broken karma episode. If you watch the show, which I assume you do if you're reading this, you might notice it has laser-guided karma. Normally, everything comes back around to get someone right up until the point where they apologize and learn their lesson. I noticed a particular episode in season 2, that gets away with a whole bunch of unresolved issues and it's become my favorite episode of that season since. A few others sort of do this, I think, but until I rewatched this episode I didn't know it was the first.**

**At the end of the episode, Ponyville is damaged, yes, but that's all fixable. I think it's supposed to be the karmic retribution for their actions but its far outweighed by the facts that they brought the plague to town, made it worse and shunned the only pony who knew how to deal with it until the end. And then even that gets outweighed by the fact that the Princess tells them that she has to leave to deal with an infestation. And they just let her go.**

**And then they laugh when they tell Pinkie Pie about it. AND THEN they keep Pinkie Pie from helping. Seriously Twilight, did you just condemn Fillydelphia to suffer through a famine you could have EASILY PREVENTED!?**

**It's not as though the Princess won't ever realize what they did either. She saw the parasprites in Ponyville and the fact that they were being handled. She's going to recognize them as soon as she gets to Fillydelphia and she's going to realize that there was no parade and that Twilight and the others not only lied to her but withheld information that could've saved LIVES. Yet it's never brought up or resolved at all. "Oh Twilight, you prankster you, sending me to clean up a nigh-unstoppable plague with no help whatsoever, I'll be sure and never say a word about this." Yeah I can see Celestia saying that.**

**So clearly, despite her advanced targeting system, Karma misses a few episodes. I think the writers of MLP must sneak up and unplug the targeting computer whenever they feel like messing with her or just realize they have too many loose ends to tie off in one episode. I'll point out any other karma misses as I get to them, especially the episode in season two that is hilarious to me because it misses so badly I noticed before I tried to rewrite it into my fanfic.**

**Y'know what, I can't wait until then. Go rewatch "Sweet and Elite" and you'll see what I mean.**

**Sorry this one turned out shorter, I just wanted to get through it and didn't feel like writing Myles into helping all their fruitless efforts when they should've asked Pinkie Pie from the beginning.**

**Also worth noting is that this is the second episode in a row that has something from the Everfree forest which we will NEVER SEE AGAIN despite it's devastating effects on the cast/town.**

**Hope you aren't too mad at me for how this turned out. But just in case you are, I'm also uploading the next chapter at the same time as this one. That's right, BONUS!**

**Mostly because I don't want to end an update on an episode so potentially disappointing. **

**Only now, of course, do I realize that Myles has potentially even LESS to do with the next chapter. Faaaaaaaaaantastic.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	11. Book 1- Ch 11

**Here goes. People love this episode. Even I love this episode. The song is the first bit of MLP I ever heard. Strange thing is, it feels a little incomplete without explosions and screaming in the background. See I first heard it played over a game of Team Fortress 2 on an MLP fan server. I really hope that server is still going. I don't have a computer that can run TF2 at the moment, but I hope to go back and hear Winter Wrap Up as I did the first time again.**

**Oh yeah, and now I have to write out this episode. Y'know, with Myles, the unicorn with no organization skill who can't possibly help in this episode. And as usual I'll be watching and re-watching the episode while I type. Hope this doesn't get ugly.**

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Winter Wrap-Up or Unsubtle Bonding

Myles squinted as the lights flipped on.

"Can't these use magic to change the seasons like they do in canterlot?" He heard Spike ask.

"Ponyville was founded by earth ponies so every year they wrap up winter without magic, it's tradition. Myles get up it's Winter Wrap-Up day!"

He sat up and stared at her. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Its time to get up!"

Myles groaned and laid back, covering his head with a pillow as Twilight rushed about.

"Oh, I suppose it's a little early." He heard Twilight say from the door downstairs. He chuckled a bit and rolled over, falling asleep again.

Myles yawned and stretched as he got out of bed later on. He glanced around to see an empty library, evidently Twilight and Spike had gone to help wrap up winter. He chuckled a bit as he thought of the baby dragon, who he assumed didn't go along willingly.

Myles got out the crystal he'd been working on a few weeks ago. With the focal point of another crystal he'd managed to blend it into one larger crystal over several attempts. This time he gathered a couple more crystals and set them nearby before pointing the melding crystal at the group of them and activating it. He slowly pushed the other two crystals to the main mass and forced some magical power to transfer between them. He grinned as they pressed firmly against the main crystal and stuck. The lines were still clearly visible, showing where the crystals were joined, but there was no gap between them. The problem was he now had an oddly shaped crystal with four structures joined at the base.

He grabbed a few more crystals and enchanted them to direct energy like the other one, now he had four crystals focusing energy on the misshapen crystal. He made sure to anchor them to his work table before trying again. This time he pressed the crystal structures together with his hooves, straining and sweating as they slowly shifted and protested until they joined as four parallel structures.

He heard the door open and before he could turn around he smelled something foul. He glanced downstairs to see a grumpy and soaked Twilight enter, followed closely by Spike, who was carrying several cans of Tomato paste. He put a closepin over his nose and decided not to bother them.

He looked at the compound crystal in front of him and frowned. The vibrations on the surface had troubled him as he pressed them together. The friction heated his hooves a bit and he was concerned about a rupture.

He went out to see Rarity obsessing over a bird's nest. He couldn't get her attention despite several attempts to ask for a small bit of fabric. After a while, he shrugged and decided to pay her back later. He retrieved some fabric from the clothing shop and formed a continuous loop of some of it.

When he got back to the library, Twilight and Spike had left again. He cut two holes in the one side of the fabric loop and sealed up the seams magically. He moved the compound crystal and then levitated two relatively flat and clear crystals into place on the fabric, placing the whole assembly in the middle of the fusion crystals. He activated them in short bursts and soon found the crystals securely bonded with the fabric, having grown a little to surround the fibers and keep them in place.

He gingerly put the loop over his head and pushed them in front of his eyes. He could see fairly clearly and his eyes were protected. Getting a sudden idea, he tapped his recording crystal.

"Try projecting images inside of crystals, so they can be viewed close up, like lenses."

He set the compound crystal back into the makeshift crystal array on the table. After making sure his newly crafted goggles sat snugly over his eyes, he focused on the array and channeled magic into each crystal, tuning some to force energy through the gaps in the crystals and a few others to exert physical pressure on the outside. He braced himself against the floor and triggered the crystal array. Then he focused his magic on the compound crystal in the center.

The crystal gave a bassy thrum as energy traveled between the gaps left over and the table shook. Sweat beaded on his forehead and streamed over his goggle lenses as he pressed more magic into the crystal. His ears twitched back and forth as he listened to the sound emitted by the crystal and adjusted the amount of magic flow to make sure not to overload it. He stopped suddenly when he saw the crystal pulse with light.

The light increased and decreased slowly and he heard the pitch of the array increase. He realized he'd left the array running when he'd stopped and was about to shut it down when the entire collection squealed in protest and exploded.

Myles groaned and picked himself up off the floor. He had seen a shard or two bounce off of his goggles and was secretly grateful he'd thought of them beforehand. He wiped his face and glanced down at his hoof, surprised to see a smear of blood. Myles sighed and made his way to the bathroom, where he cleaned the cuts on his face and bandaged one of them up. He tapped his memo crystal, "Safety note: full blast shielding needed for crystal bonding process, if it ever- huh?"

He had stopped mid-sentence, having walked back into the main room while talking, he spotted his work area. He tapped his note crystal to shut it off as he walked forwards to examine the area. The surrounding area and the surface of the table was covered in crystal shards and fresh blast marks. Almost everything was as he expected.

But in the center, where the compound crystal had been, was a solid light blue crystal that slowly pulsed with light. The light faded and a steady thrum swelled and reduced to silence as the crystal returned to normal. As normal as any crystal was to Myles, save for the fact that it was the largest crystal he'd ever seen, about the size of a chicken. It was all one color and running a magical current through it revealed there were little to no impurities whatsoever.

He eagerly tapped his note crystal again, "Crystal bonding process was a success. An array of no less than eight smaller crystals, four used for magic flow and four used for physical pressure is required, but I've successfully bonded four crystals into one larger whole. Furthermore, the impurities have all but been wiped out and the consistency of matter, color and texture have all formed into one uniform mass of blue crystal. The crystal array overloaded in the process, requiring too much energy for the bonding to work, but with this larger crystal that may not matter. It may be possible to channel enough energy through this crystal to control magical flow and exert pressure at the same time. Hmmm, I'd need a solid surface with sound dampening properties to keep the energy from overflowing, like…. An anvil." A wide smile crossed his face as he thought on this and tapped his note crystal twice. "Adjustments will have to be made to the testing chamber in my new basement. Once I have an ample supply of these larger, purified crystals I can begin experimenting with the possible capabilities leant to each crystal due to their increased mass and purity." He tapped his crystal again and laughed. Gladly sweeping up the shards scattered about the room, he collected them in a bag off to the side before flopping down gratefully on the guest bed.

He dreamt of the crystal cave again. Something had changed, however. He found one of the larger crystals tuned into harmony with the smaller ones he had adjusted on a prior visit. He considered calling Luna again, but decided not to on the basis that she likely would've contacted him if she had more information or was withholding all information because she wanted to keep him calm, as she had said last time. He considered tuning others as well, even the possibility of creating an array as he had done in real life earlier, but the world blurred as he heard another voice.

"Myles!" Twilight shouted as she shook him awake.

"Okay wow! I'm awake! I'm awake!" He groaned as he sat up and rubbed his ears, fighting the familiar spinning sensation brought on by a loud sound.

"Sorry," Twilight said softly, "I rushed home to talk to you and you were talking in your sleep."

He looked up and saw her wearing a multi-colored vest. "Got to wrap up winter after all, huh?"

She glanced at the vest, "Oh, yes," she smiled brightly, "the Mayor declared me all-team organizer after I got the teams to work well enough together to wrap up winter on time. But never mind that now, are you okay?" She finished with increasing concern in her voice.

Myles rubbed his head, "Ummmm, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

She indicated the blast-marks on the table and then poked him in the cheek, tapping the bandage on his face. He briefly wondered if she could see his cheeks redden at the contact, but most of it was covered by the bandage and she'd probably think he was just embarrassed about his experiment.

"Oh right," he laughed nervously, "Yeah I managed to get those crystals to bond earlier."

"I can see that," Twilight nodded at the large crystal on the table, "I meant what happened to the room and your face!"

Myles coughed nervously, "The process needs some work… I kinda detonated eight other crystals on accident."

"Eight!?" Twilight cried in shock.

"Look, I'm sorry about the mess, I cleaned it up as best as I could, I swear I won't try again in your house, besides, mine is almost fini-" He stopped as she flung her hooves around his neck and hugged him, his cheeks reddened again, but Twilight didn't seem to notice as she pulled out of the hug and smashed a hoof into the side of his face that wasn't bandaged.

"OW! My cheek meat! What the hay, Twilight?" Myles rubbed his other cheek as he looked up at her angry expression.

"You could've gotten seriously hurt. Don't you ever think about your own safety?"

"Yeah," he said defensively, holding up his new goggles, "I made these. Look, I know what I'm doing here Twilight, you don't have to worry."

"Do you? You spend all your time with your ears pressed up against potentially lethal unstable materials and every time one of them goes off you act like it's nothing!"

"They're tiny shards Twilight, and yes its dangerous but I take precautions alright? I already said I wouldn't do it in your house anymore, what more do you want?"

"I want to know I'm not going to find you dead in your basement one day!" She shouted angrily. Myles gaped at her as her eyes began to water. "It's … I – You're my friend, Myles, and when I saw the new cuts on you and the bloody bandage I thought… I remembered when… when I…" she trailed off and Myles pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Twilight," he said quietly as he pulled away, "That… the thing with my house was almost a month ago. I didn't realize it still bothered you."

She sniffed, "You didn't see yourself that day, Myles," she shivered a bit as though chilled by what she was remembering, "You saw yourself after the doctor had cleaned you up. When I found you, there was so much blood… and you were cut all over… I thought you were gone."

He smiled and patted her shoulder, "I blew up way more crystals when we fought Nightmare Moon, they're hardly going to be the end of me. I know what I'm doing, Twilight, and I do take precautions, but accidents happen anyways, sometimes. I'm sorry I scared you."

She smiled a bit, "It's fine, I need to work past it, but I just want you to be okay."

"I'm fine Twilight," he smirked, "besides in my line of work I'm much more likely to be eaten whole by something." He laughed openly at her reaction.

"Yeah," Twilight regained her composure, "That's not helping. Nor is it funny."

"It was a little," he smirked again, "So winter's wrapped up, huh?" He quickly changed the subject as he saw her grow more irritated. She sighed, "Yes, it took a lot of work and coordination, but we managed…"

Myles grinned as he listened to her story, happy to be away from the topic of his health, but also encouraged by their conversation. Sure she had called him her friend, but it was nice to know she cared. Myles frowned a bit as he thought this, as it may be the best he could ever hope for.

**Woo! Crystal progress and small bits of character development. Yeah it's short again, and while watching the subsequent episodes, that may happen again a couple of times. But it beats forcing Myles into plots he doesn't have much to do with.**

**Don't worry, there's stuff coming up that Myles will be more involved with soon, but I gotta get through these first.**

**I also just realized I forgot to put in what Myles was saying in his sleep. That's okay, its actually better that you don't know yet, since I had already crossed the line from foreshadowing to "ah ha, hes gonna do this" earlier in the chapter. If you didn't spot it, good, otherwise lets keep this between ourselves.**

**Yes there are definitely things Myles could have helped with by not using magic, but considering he would've been sleep deprived and still on call for watching the forest during the previous winter wrap up, he probably had resigned himself to not helping beforehand. I also could've had him follow Twilight around all episode and try and comfort her, but that would mean typing out the whole episode almost as-is with a few comments thrown in here and there. Tedious for me and probably not at all entertaining to you.**

**Oh yeah, and check out the next chapter too. **

**That's right! C-C-COMBO! Didn't feel like upsetting the pattern with an odd-numbered update, so I extended it to a DOUBLE BONUS! Four chapters in a DAY?!**

**That's so awesome that it might never happen again!**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	12. Book 1- Ch 12

**B-b-bonus! Here we go! And to top it off, watch as it has almost nothing to do with the episode during which it takes place! Seriously, I can think of a way to put Myles into this plot, but it would last about two seconds and add pretty much nothing to the episode.**

**As usual, I don't own My Little Pony.**

Call of the Cutie or Crystal Forge

"Wow," Applejack whistled appreciatively, "I thought ya were havin' 'em build you a new house, not a castle!"

Myles chuckled as he led the others over to his recently finished home, which resembled a castle turret from the outside and stood over twice as tall as his original home.

"Considering what happened to the last one," Rarity spoke up, "I don't blame him for the new aesthetic. I'm sure it's built for practicality, no matter how amazing it looks!" Rarity's eyes sparkled as she ran a lap around the base of the tower.

"Glad you approve, Rarity," he grinned, "You're right though, it's built like a castle turret for stability, not to look nice. That's just a surprise bonus. Hopefully it'll take a lot more to knock this one down. C'mon inside." He opened the door and led the others inside, where they looked around with awkward expressions on their faces.

"Ummmm… No offense Myles," Rarity began, "But this looks just like the kitchen and living room from your old house but with even less furniture…"

"What's wrong with that? I liked my kitchen and my living room can actually be a living room this time since I moved my bedroom to the second floor. But that's just the boring stuff, c'mon!" He ran up a staircase built into the rounded walls that spiraled upwards as the building curved. They followed him to the third floor, which was a blank stone room with benches built into the walls and a window running the entire circumference.

"It's certainly… roomy." Twilight said nervously.

"Can't have stuff getting in the way up here, this is the armory and observation floor." He pushed a stone panel in the wall aside and mashed a hoof into the button it had hidden. The girls gasped as the metal shutters covering the windows propped themselves open and allowed them to see outside. "I can shut off any section I want, so I'm protected from attacks on other sides when I shoot outside."

"Shoot with what?"

Myles grinned and lifted the seat of one of the benches curved into the walls, revealing a compartment full of crystals. "I had the next shipment moved up here, I'll keep some of them enchanted and the rest blank so I'm ready for anything. And…" he tugged on a rope hanging in the center of the room, revealing a staircase upwards, "I have access to the roof from here, in case I need to get something flying above."

"You can see half the forest from here!" Pinkie cried excitedly.

"That's the idea, between this and the extra detection crystals I'll be setting up, I'll have advance notice of anything that comes within a couple miles of Ponyville."

"That's good to know," Fluttershy muttered quietly.

"That's it?" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically, "If you had needed eyes in the sky, you could've just asked me."

"You won't be here all the time, Rainbow, and I wouldn't want to wake you at three am for a false alarm. Besides, it's also a stable position to cast magic from. It's also not the only addition, c'mon."

Myles eagerly led the others back downstairs, this time he pulled on a lever on the wall which opened a panel in the floor that revealed more stairs spiraling down. He flipped a switch and the basement lit up to show a straw covered floor, some vents near the ceiling, workbenches lining the walls and in the middle a large anvil covered in chalk and set into a sandstone base. There was a large bright orange crystal resting on the anvil, almost as large as the anvil itself and bigger than Applejack's head, hat and all.

"Woah!" Rainbow's jaw dropped, "What is this place and where did THAT come from?" she pointed a hoof at the massive crystal.

"That," Myles grinned widely, "is what I've been working on for the past week and a half and also the key piece of this room. Or it will be once it's set into place." He indicated a recess in the ceiling with a few metal bands attached that wrapped in a circle, just a little bit bigger than the crystal. Rainbow Dashed forwards and tried to lift the crystal, grunting and straining. Myles just laughed.

"Relax, Dash," he pulled her away from the crystal, "I appreciate you trying to help, but it wouldn't be safe for you to be touching the crystal while it was set. You'd get friction burns while it bonded with the metal. But I'm eager to get it in place as well. So, could everyone please go upstairs a moment. Twilight, Rarity, could I get some help?"

The others obligingly retreated and he gestured to Twilight and Rarity to follow him as he walked to a spot a small distance away from the anvil and activated another hidden switch. A thick steel panel angled itself upwards from the floor. He brought them over to crouch behind it.

"See Twilight, I do take precautions, hence the blast shield," he nodded to the steel plate.

"What did you need help with?" Twilight asked, ignoring his latest jab at her concerns.

"I need you two to lift the crystal into place while I bond it with the mount and secure it."

Twilight and Rarity shared a nervous look.

"Okay, if you're sure it's safe."

"Well you will be if you stay behind the blast shield," he pulled his goggles down over his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be back here too?" Twilight said critically.

"I'll be fine."

"Myles…" Twilight looked irritated.

"Alright alright, if you insist."

He took cover behind the shield along with them. Twilght and Rarity's horns glowed and the massive crystal wobbled a bit before gently drifting upwards. It turned slowly to line up with the mount and they slid it carefully into place. Myles' horn lit up as he channeled magic into the crystal and listened to the hum it emitted. This hum was a deep bass compared to the previous crystals and the girls looked nervous, but after a moment the metal bands glowed orange and the crystal grew over them. Myles relaxed and told the others they could let go. He held his breath, but as the girls released their magic the crystal stayed put. He ushered Twilight and Rarity out from behind the shield and pressed the button again to lower it. Then he called upstairs, "You can come back down now."

The rest of the girls rejoined them, exclaiming in awe as they saw the crystal in its proper place. Pinkie Pie looked confused. "What is it?"

"This," Myles couldn't resist grinning widely as he swept a hoof across the room, "Is the Crystal Forge. Using the directed energy from the crystal above focused on the raw materials below and any excess vibration absorbed by the custom built base, I can remake and join crystals together by bridging the gaps with magic, which destabilizes the structure of the crystal and allows it to be matched up with others, other material is either grown by magic or pressed into it from smaller shards."

"Wait, wut?" Applejack looked confused

"I can make crystals any size or shape with this."

"You don't mean…" Twilight began. Myles nodded and pointed at the crystal set into the ceiling.

"Hammer," he pointed at the anvil covered in stone, "Anvil."

"So you smash crystals together here?" Rainbow asked. Twilight looked furious.

"No, I melt them together, like a real forge. Sure I don't actually hit the crystals with that big one up there, but it exerts pressure and energy onto the materials, so on a molecular level the reaction is similar. And I can do it all from behind the blast shields, so there's no need to get all upset, Twilight." He grinned as her expression faded into a simple frown.

He led the others upstairs in order to avoid the impending argument. Twilight followed reluctantly. The others complimented his house again and took their leave, but Twilight lingered behind and fixed Myles with a glare. He turned to her and sighed.

"Alright, you're determined to say this no matter how many times I tell you I have it under control, so let's have it." Twilight frowned deeper at him.

"I wasn't… just…" She looked flustered for a moment, "Just be careful, alright?"

Myles blinked and then smiled, "I will." Twilight pulled him into a quick hug before excusing herself as well.

"Now," Myles bit his lip in excitement as he pulled his goggles over his eyes, "Time for a test run."

Twilight was already having trouble sleeping that night. She'd written to Celestia about her concerns over Myles along with the letter she'd sent after Applebloom finally accepted her blank flank and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were formed. She knew Myles took precaution, but considering he'd spent years without any progress, she sometimes wondered if he remembered how dangerous the power he was dealing with was. Then again, she supposed he knew better than anyone, having been on the receiving end dozens of times. That didn't mean he couldn't make a mistake though.

Almost the instant she thought this, she heard the explosion. If there had been any doubt as to where it originated, the eerie orange glow that briefly shone through her window confirmed it. She ran out the front door and directly for Myles' house. As she approached, she was relieved to see the pony in question open the door, but she became concerned a moment later as he stumbled outside and thick smoke poured out from under the door and the vents at the tower's base.

"Myles!" She shouted as she ran to his side, where he sank to his rear haunches, coughing. "Myles are you alright?!" He waved a hoof at her but continued coughing for a bit.

The coughing fit began to fade and she met his nervous smile with a critical gaze. "I'm good, Twilight, blast shield saved me, but it turns out I need better ventilation. That's not the best part though, the crystal's intact! The magic fell out of rhythm and created the explosion, but the crystal was too sturdy for the explosion to affect it! So larger crystals can be used to safely experiment with small-scale spells without risking damage to the crystal! Bit loud though, sorry if I woke you."

"ME?!" Twilight shouted, causing Myles to wince in pain, "You probably woke Princess Celestia!" She gestured down the street where several heads poked out of windows and front doors at the commotion. The smoke had ceased billowing out of his house but now the observers had their attention fixed on the argument outside. Myles waved at his neighbors sheepishly.

"Sorry everypony, everything's under control," he turned back to his house but was blocked by Twilght.

"This is under control? You nearly blew up your house!"

"Yeah, but I didn't. besides, the basement's reinforced for this very reason and like I said, I had taken cover. Everything's fine, Twilight, relax."

She put a hoof to her head in frustration, "What were you even doing? I saw the light from that explosion inside the library!"

"Really?" Myles looked excited, "That's interesting… Energy output of that magnitude would exceed the projected storage capacity I'd calculated…"

"You do calculations?" Twilight asked skeptically, remembering an instance when she'd asked him to double check an equation of hers only to have him make dozens of excuses to get out of it. He seemed to realize what she meant and frowned mockingly.

"I do ... sure sometimes I make estimations… that turn out to be wrong…"

"So, entirely random guesses?"

"Educated …. random guesses… look, do you want to know what I'm working on or not?" He finished with frustration. Twilight grinned a bit before nodding.

"I'm trying to align the waves of magic so their amplitude can rest inside each other."

"And that will do… what, exactly?"

"I'll be able to compress the energy and store it for transfer to other crystals or even just as a power source."

"A magical battery then?" Twilight seemed genuinely interested for a moment, but then shook her head, "Listen, that does sound fascinating, but do you think you could do these experiments during the daytime? When noponys trying to sleep?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll try again in the morning, but that reaction…" Myles muttered as Twilight put a hoof around his shoulders and led him back to his front door, "The waves forcing against each other is what causes the ruptures… perhaps given a gentle push against each other and combined with the durability of the larger, purer crystals… they can be used as a temporary accelerator to deliver short bursts of magic when activated… maybe this works in either direction and can be used for automated-." His voice was muffled as Twilight pushed him inside and shut the door, smiling and shaking her head. At least he'd be easier to keep an eye on during the day.

Neither of them caught the brief flash of light or the snickering sound carried away by the early morning breeze.

**Yup, nothing to do with the episode. To be honest I got stuck on the end of this one, trying to figure out something to do. But I squeezed some crystal functionality in there. So much so that I considered deleting it, on the basis that I'm getting ahead of myself again, but then I changed it a bit and…. Well I still may come back and change it to avoid giving stuff away. No. No I must live with my decisions. Besides the idea I put down instead to distract from the idea I didn't want to give away is sort of interesting. **

**GAH! These last few chapters were so short! I've been having some real life stuff going on but that's no excuse. I may have to resort to a tactic I was saving for an episode of season 2. The trouble is there's not much for Myles to affect in these episodes without completely messing up the plot. I'm honestly trying to pace myself here and I'm starting to realize I'm not so great at it. I keep going back to read the first eight chapters and realize Myles has already been hospitalized twice, had his house destroyed and realized his feelings for Twilight. Granted the last one had to happen in season 1 because… reasons. But still, with this installment I'm actually nearer halfway through season 1, which feels good, even if I did have to fudge it by going under my word budget (oh crap that episode is coming up too!).**

**Still, after the latest review, I feel bad about holding back for this long. And there are episodes coming up where he will have a greater involvement. Not to mention I'm actually going to make something of the random foreshadowing I threw in before season 1 ends.**

**I mean, I've even decided to make something special of the next episode. I should really stop promising things ahead of time, since that's what happened with this chapter. But I realized the next episode was number 13. My favorite number. So I gotta make something special out of it. Hope you're not Triskadecaphobic.**

**And then I thought, why don't I go back and add a bunch of foreshadowing for the next episode? Did I? Ha-ha-hardly! I don't even know exactly what I'm going to do yet and I really am tired of overthinking these last few episodes, so if I do ever go back and make adjustments, it'll be much later.**

**So yeah, just some crystal mechanics and a bit of Twilight for this one. So why do I feel like a jerk for releasing it? Man this is frustrating. Please keep reading! I'm sorry!**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	13. Book 1- Ch 13

**Lucky 13. Course the whole reason I like the number is because I think it's silly to assign good or bad luck to a number. If you're playing a game where rolling that number on dice is bad, maybe, but not for just randomly seeing it around. **

**Oh yeah, couple things up front: Settle in for another long chapter and, as usual…**

**I don't own My Little Pony. Enjoy.**

Fall Weather Friends or Resounding Echoes

"Great," Myles rolled his eyes as he looked around, "This one again."

The crystal cave closed in on him again. The crystals were rapidly growing together to compress him accompanied by the familiar chant replacing the steady hum of magic.

_"__You alone stand twixt these woods and war."_

"I know already, so shut it!" Myles shouted over the din. He charged his horn with magic, steadying his feet in preparation to blast the entire collection… then he blinked as he heard a soft dull tone. Myles sighed as the crystals closed in and his vision blurred.

"You just gotta suck the fun out of everything…" he mumbled as everything went dark.

Myles blinked his eyes and placed a hoof on the crystal armband on his end table and slid it over his leg. He rolled out of bed and tapped the crystal with another hoof, frowning at the projection of the perimeter. Its upper surface was covered in small indistinct shapes. They were all about the same size but he couldn't see any other consistencies from the projection.

He ran up the stairs two steps at a time until he arrived at the observation deck. Then he tugged on the rope to pull down the stairs to the roof and leapt up those stairs as well, skidding to a stop at the edge of the tower roof and gazing out towards the Everfree Forest.

Hundreds of birds, squawking and screeching, flew out of the forest and over the town. He ducked as one flew low, feeling the rush of air as it passed over his ears and shoulders. He tried to follow its progress in the other direction but raised a hoof to cover his eyes as the sunrise flickered, partially blocked by the swarm of tiny birds fleeing the woods as though it were on fire. He spotted a larger shadow and squinted as he tried to make out what it was. His answer came when he tilted his ears forwards and barely heard a soft voice over the din of flapping wings.

"Oh! Um… please… if you don't mind… I mean, if it's not too much trouble, could you-?"

"Fluttershy?" Myles walked forwards to the spot where the yellow pegasus had landed so he could face away from the sun. They kept their heads low as the occasional bird zoomed over their heads.

"Oh, you're awake Myles," if not for his superb hearing, Myles wouldn't have made out Fluttershy's murmured words over the noise, "What's going on? All the little birds are flying off and I don't know why."

"Can't you speak to them or something?" Myles shouted, ducking as another bird dove low over his tower.

"They just keep saying-AAH!" Fluttershy cried out as another bird swooped over her head.

"What?" Myles shouted, glaring at the flock diving at the tower.

"All they'll say is- Oh dear!"

"Say again?"

"The only thing they'll say is-" the flapping faded away as the last of the birds cleared the tower and flew into the distance, "Fly away! Oh!" Fluttershy looked more sheepish, if possible, "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout." Myles looked confused for a moment, as she had only barely exceeded her usual gentle volume by a bit.

"Its fine," Myles looked back to the forest, "Looks like they're all done."

"But… 'fly away?' They sounded so scared and they kept repeating it. Over and over and over-" She stopped pacing back and forth as Myles put a hoof to her shoulder.

"Fluttershy, cool it. Okay?"

"But something's obviously very wrong! What could scare those cute little birds so badly?"

"Anything! You've taken care of birds loads of times. It doesn't take much to spook them. More than likely a manticore burped somewhere in the forest and set them off." Myles smiled widely at her and laughed a bit.

"Oh," Fluttershy seemed unsure all of a sudden, "I suppose… if you say so… Maybe you're right…I'll just head home then…" She flapped her wings gently and took off.

Myles watched her glide softly towards her home, almost completely silent compared to the recent uproar of wings. When she seemed as small as one of the birds in the distance, a grim expression replaced his smile as he dashed back downstairs. He felt bad for using Fluttershy's trusting nature against her, but he'd have felt worse causing his friend to panic.

He grabbed his goggles off the hook on the wall and slipped them over his head as he continued down to the forge. He eyed the massive crystals lined up against the far wall, each humming with stored magic. He'd finally balanced the process of magical storage and was in the midst of finding proper ways to channel it where it needed to go, but apparently the theory was going to be put to a proper test today. He secured one crystal onto his back with some leather straps and made the others release just enough energy to float off the ground as he guided them upstairs and out his front door.

What he told Fluttershy was true, flocks of birds got spooked in Everfree all the time. Myles was honestly surprised that any of them were foolish enough to land there in the first place. Normally the flock settled down elsewhere in Everfree or even in the nearby White-tail wood. He hadn't pointed out how unusual it was for flocks of multiple different kinds of birds fleeing at once. Or the even more suspicious fact that they fled in such panic that they barely missed his tower, even though it was a relatively new addition to the horizon. Not to mention the words they were repeating. Not having Fluttershy's gift for animals, he didn't know what birds usually talked about or how intelligent the conversation was, but he'd be willing to bet it was more complex than "Fly away!"

He looked about to see if anyone was watching and proceeded when he saw the coast was clear. He galloped a familiar trail along the outside of the forest, the same he had run along with a mad cackle as he set up the perimeter for the first time. This time, he allowed the larger battery crystals to settle down outside the barrier, carefully using their own energy to drill them several feet underground until he reached the end of the barrier.

Shutting his eyes, he focused on the subtle basslike thrum beneath his hooves and reached out with his magic to tune the barrier, listening for the subtle pitch change as each one connected to his magic. Furrowing his brow, he sets each crystal on the same frequency as the batteries and carefully weaves an adjustment to the spell into all of them. They were self-sustaining before, but now the strength of the barrier could be increased to handle much more stress. He gasped as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He rolled his shoulders, adjusting the battery strapped to his back and glanced around one last time to see if anyone was watching. If all went well, he'd be in the forest and have dealt with the problem before anyone missed him. Of course, the last time he'd thought something along those lines his house was destroyed and he'd wound up in the hospital. And even that hadn't been preceded by an ominous exodus of birds from the forest. To top it all off, the words he'd been having nightmares about for the past several weeks echoed in his memory.

"You alone stand twixt these woods and war, huh?" He frowned as he walked into the trees. "So this won't take as long as an actual war, right?" He stopped and shook his head. "Right… and I'm Starswirl the Bearded…" He mumbled as he continued deeper into the woods and activated the barrier by tapping the crystal on his bracer.

Myles had been becoming steadily more aware of how sensitive his hearing was since Twilight had discovered it. It seemed every day he found a sound he had been tuning out his entire life and he had been increasingly thankful that he could, seeing as he probably would never have slept for more than 30 seconds if he heard everything. The incident with the Poison Joke had only reinforced his sensitivity, as the oppressive silence had given him something with which to compare the amount of noise he encountered every day.

He couldn't help but think of that day when he thought he'd never hear again as he walked deeper into Everfree forest. It was just as quiet as it had been then. Obviously, the birds had all gone, but nothing else made a sound either. No squirrels or other small mammals scampered through the brush. No insects chirped or buzzed. Not a single ground-shaking footfall from anything that could tear through a house. Just silence aside from the crystal humming gently on his back. It was unnerving him and occasionally he found himself scraping a hoof across the trunks of nearby trees just to hear something else.

Suddenly he slipped as the ground dipped forwards. Fresh earth was overturned and compressed in the ground in front of him. He backed out of the hole and gazed at the shape indented into the dirt for a few moments before his eyes widened in surprise.

"No," he said flatly as he looked up at the clearing he'd walked into. "No." He shook his head in denial as he spotted freshly fallen rocks at the mouth of the cave across the clearing. "No." His eye twitched as it traced the line of freshly fallen trees to his right, knocked over in either direction as though something massive had passed between them.

He'd been to this clearing before, he'd followed a pair of foolish colts into the cave across from him and he'd fled along the line of fallen trees from what had turned out to be an Ursa Minor. Now everything was different. Now the opening to the cave was larger, as was the gap between the rows of shattered tree-trunks off to the side. He might have put all this down to himself not having paid enough attention during his last trip here if he hadn't literally stumbled into the most blatant piece of evidence that something had changed since then.

The indentation in the ground was one of eleven. Four others were similar in size and lie to the sides of the one he'd stumbled into. There was a smaller divot ahead of each of the five depressions and behind the main five was one larger hole that spanned the width of the others and rose up to meet the ones in the middle. It bore a remarkable resemblance to a bear's footprint. A bear several times larger than any he'd ever seen. And the last one he'd seen had pushed a rockslide through his house.

"Buck me…" he whispered to no one in particular, "Mommy's awake."

"Twilight!" Myles shouted as he hammered on the door of the library, "Twilight! C'mon! Open up!" He ran around to the window and peered inside to see total darkness. Turning and growling in frustration, he ran for Sweet Apple Acres and almost fell over as a piece of paper blew into his face and blocked his vision. He violently tore the paper away from his face and was about to throw it to the ground when the text caught his eye.

"Annual Running of the Leaves. Today only in White-tail Wood. Seriously?" Myles crumpled up the poster and pitched it into an alley. "Didn't we just wrap-up winter? Somepony's way off script here." He ran to a nearby house and pounded on the door, then quickly ran to the window to see another pitch black interior and pounded on the window-sill in frustration. He looked around at the surrounding homes, all of which were dark.

"Applejack!? Rarity?!" Myles shouted as loudly as he could, "Rainbow Dash!? Pinkie Pie?!" He hesitated as he looked around for any signs of his friends. "Fluttershy?" he asked quietly. Gritting his teeth, he sprinted back to the forest, toggling the barrier as he passed over the threshold.

Myles galloped along the side of the ravine and across the bridge they had returned from a few weeks ago to a straw-covered hut built into a tree. He raised a hoof to knock on the door when he spotted a piece of paper nailed to the door. Squinting as his eyes adjusted to the low light, he read the harsh, jagged writing on the note out loud.

_Sorry, Guardian, for leaving my home,_

_It is fated that you walk this trail alone._

"Oh yeah, of course. I get it," Myles rolled his eyes, "'You alone stand twixt these woods and war.' Well how was I supposed to know that was the one thing you said that was meant literally? Also some directions would've been nice, since you can see the future and all. Just saying." As he said this more words appeared on the page.

_Not all things are revealed to us here,_

_For the answer you must follow your ear._

"Oh now that's just showing off. And follow my ear, huh? So what exactly am I listening fo-" Myles head whipped around as he heard a deep sound build into a full roar that shook the tree branches and the ground beneath his feet. Myles rolled his eyes and crumpled up the paper note before running towards the origin point of the sound, not bothering to read the words that began to appear after he heard the sound. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up before it even happens."

"Okay okay," Myles panted as he ran deeper into the forest, "think Myles. How are you going to beat this thing? Can't dump it off a cliff, it'll just climb out. Can't drown it since I'm not close enough to the ocean. For all I know it already ate the swamp-monster so that's out and that leaves me with… a single prototype battery crystal, an upgraded barrier and…. that's all. Fantastic. Oh yes, and let's not forget I don't even know why today, OF ALL DAYS, it decided to wake up and…" His eyelid twitched as he skidded to a stop in front of a familiar cliff, overlooking a vine-riddled basin. When he was waiting for the sound of a manticore impacting the bottom, it had seemed abyssal in its depth.

Now it seemed a trivial step in comparison to the beast that stood crushing a large section of overgrown basin. The cliff brought him level with the Ursa Major's upper thigh as it rested its front legs on the cliff opposite, slowly and steadily climbing towards a ruined stone castle. The star-covered purple bear could have crushed half of Ponyville by lying down for a nap. Halfway up its back was a small blue patch of fur that Myles had to squint to recognize as the infant Ursa that had destroyed his house.

"That…" he said flatly, "is a considerably larger bear than I was expecting."

Myles galloped at top speed along the cliff-side as he raced for the bridge that Rainbow Dash had repaired the day they met, the fastest and only way he knew how to get to the Ursa's apparent goal. He gritted his teeth and air whistled through his nostrils as he pushed himself to run faster. The Ursa brought its front right paw upwards and it began to move downwards towards the old castle of the alicorn sisters, former resting place of the Elements of Harmony. Before he was halfway across the bridge and the Ursa could crush the castle, another roar sounded across the valley and something erupted from within the crumbling ruin with enough speed and ferocity to throw the city-sized bear off-balance.

Myles nearly tripped over himself as he gaped at the spectacle before him and slowed his mad gallop. The Ursa fell backwards, catching the edge of the cliff to stop from rolling onto its back and rearing onto its hind legs. It swung its head violently to try and detach the new assailant, who repeatedly clawed around the Ursa's eyes and stabbed the bear repeatedly in the nose with the sharp sting on its tail. Latched onto the head of an Ursa Major was a manticore with scars running across the right side of its face and body.

Myles resumed running for the castle, but no longer sprinting frantically. The Ursa Major was busy dipping its nose in the overgrowth in the basin to try and scape off the angry manticore. The formerly purple snout was swollen and red, its massive maw opened wide to reveal teeth as large as Myles' new home. A loud rasping noise echoed across the basin and it took Myles a moment to figure out the Ursa was attempting to roar again. A desperate sting to a spot under the bear's jaw had caused its throat to swell and its vocal chords to be obstructed. Its breathing was unaffected apparently, as it swung its head with as much ferocity as before.

His hooves hitting stone, Myles took the steps up to the castle two at a time and headed directly for the interior staircase that spiraled up to the second floor. When he arrived at the edge near a collapsed wall he stumbled as the entire castle shook beneath his feet. The Ursa Major had roughly landed with its front paws on the cliff below the castle and brought its snout low to the ground. On its back, the blue mass of fur rapidly moved up the back of its parent and tackled the manticore to the ground, rolling away swiftly and leaving the manticore open. The manticore rolled out of the way as the Major brought a massive claw down on the spot where it had fallen. Then the manticore rolled back the way it came as another massive claw came down on the spot where it would have ended up, as it rolled against the first paw it stung the limb several times drawing another rasp from the Major.

"Wow, Manti's _really_ been paying attention to our fights. If this keeps up I'm gonna have to start paying her. First things first, though. HEEEEEEEEEY!"

The Major had been leaning its head forwards to bite down on the manticore, but its gigantic ears twitched in irritation as Myles' shout and its head rose to bring the miniscule pony into view. Eyes several times his own size focused on Myles as he concentrated on the crystal on his back. He brought some energy forwards and focused it in his horn. A beam of magic lanced forth and struck the creature under the eye, causing it to blink momentarily. Myles' horn sparked and the beam fizzled out. "Not NOW!" he shouted as he glanced back at the battery and then quickly snapping his gaze back to the Ursa, whose raspy exhale knocked Myles off his hooves, despite not being a fully-fledged roar. The thick strands of saliva were blown forwards and some splashed down heavier than boulders on the floor next to Myles, blasting him farther backwards into the castle.

Struggling to his feet, Myles pulled more energy from the crystal on his back and focused on the rhythm of the magic unspooling from the battery. He fired another beam but this one soon wavered and disappeared like the first. The massive bear brought a paw up to sweep the floor and Myles stumbled again as it came to a rest on the same floor he was standing on. The massive purple limb scraped grooves into the back wall as it swept towards Myles and he summoned another blast of energy. His horn fizzled again and he growled in frustration, momentarily distracted as the bear rasped at him again. Looking up just in time, Myles leapt into the air and landed in a mass of purple fur. Digging in his hooves, he managed to hang on as the arm withdrew from the castle.

Myles felt a wave of heat flow over him as the creature brought its mouth around to swallow him. He fired a short burst of magic and struck the roof of the creature's mouth, causing it to rasp and recoil backwards. Myles faltered again but regained his balance and ran up the Ursa's arm. He ran up its shoulder and onto the back of its head as it gripped its snout in pain. He fired a short burst straight up into the sky and gasped as he was flattened against the Ursa's head. The Ursa swung its head side-to-side, trying to regain its senses. Braced against its fur, Myles was able to stay on.

Myles thought back on the bursts he'd fired previous and realized they cut out at the same time. Thinking quickly, he stood up and set his legs in a stable position before firing another pulse into the sky. When the beam was about to cut out at the bottom of the magic's rhythm he pulled more energy from the crystal and sent it surging along the beam. The beam continued and widened. Myles gritted his teeth as the beam pressed against him but kept his footing even as he was forced against the bear with enough force to push it back towards the castle. He felt the bear accelerate as it was pushed back towards the cliff. After a few seconds he stopped firing and ran over the top of the Ursa's head and over its swollen snout. As the castle rushed up to meet the beast he leapt off of its nose and rolled onto the floor he'd been on previously. He had hit just after the Ursa and coughed violently to clear his throat of the dust it had kicked up as the bear itself slid backwards off the floor. Said floor buckled underneath Myles' hooves and slanted towards the open wall, causing him to slide forwards and onto the cliff in front of the castle.

A roar caught his attention as the Ursa Minor charged at him from his left, only to collide with the front claws of the manticore charging from the opposite direction. Claws and teeth scraped against each other above his head, growls from both beasts surrounded Myles as he ran at the Ursa Minor, leapt and bucked his back hooves into its stomach. The bear gasped as the wind was kicked out of it and it fell backwards. The manticore growled and Myles rounded on it, but when he spotted the creature, its attention was directed behind him at the basin. Myles followed its gaze and saw the Major rolling forwards to its feet. Myles shouted unintelligibly and seized some of the vines from the basin, drawing upon the power from the crystal he wrapped one around its back leg and tripped it. Another vine lashed upwards and struck the bear in the face, hitting it with such force that it rolled over backwards and landed on its belly. Myles pants as he suddenly feels drained but manages to keep his footing. The manticore looks strangely at him but makes no move to attack.

A desperate growl caught their attention as the Ursa Minor called nervously after its parent, who hadn't moved yet. It leapt from the cliff and bounded off a few lower ledges, running towards its downed mother. A strange short roar came from behind Myles and he turned to see the manticore baring its teeth at him. He backed away and the manticore allowed its jowls to fall forwards and cover the razor teeth again. Myles gave it a curious look and glanced around as he heard short, light barking growls from inside the castle. He spotted another mane and set of wings around a rock as a smaller manticore peered around the ruined wall at him. Myles stood dumbstruck until both manticores looked behind him and roared.

Myles rounded on the basin and saw the Major shaking its head and getting to its feet. He frowned deeply and ran for the cliff. He glanced around for a way down and spotted an artificial surface covered in strange vines. Blasting the vines, he was surprised to find a staircase spiraling down into the basin. He merely shrugged and galloped towards it, leaping down and only hitting every fourth step in his haste. In a few moments he hit the bottom and charged towards the center of the basin. The vines obscured his view, but over the tops of the foliage he could see the shoulders of the Major shifting as it brought its feet under itself and took a step forwards. Rows of vines and trees collapsed as the ground beneath Myles shook again and he used the new gaps to make his way to the massive clearing of broken plant life where the Ursa had landed. He ran a magical pulse through the crystal to check its energy level. He still had about 10% of the battery's full capacity, a lot more than he'd have on his own, but not enough to keep blasting the Major into submission. He frowned and plowed forwards into the clearing where the Major and Minor stood.

Seeing the movement, both massive bears turned their gaze to where he had come through. The Minor growled and began to move towards him but its progress was stopped by a massive purple paw landing in its path. Myles glared at the Ursa Major, who met his gaze with eyes that could have crushed him with their weight alone. The Major tentatively raised its other paw and Myles responded by charging another beam. The Major focused on the grayish-blue light pulsing around Myles' horn and brought its paw backwards, slowly and softly lowering it back to the ground. Myles smirked again. They had no way of knowing how much energy he could fire at them.

That only left the problem of him standing between two irate and dangerous mothers with no real idea why they were fighting or how to stop them from going back to it after he left. The Princess' castle, Ponyville and the Everfree forest would likely be destroyed by the Major if he just left them to their own devices.

And yet, they stood still, their gazes fixed on one little pony with a crystal strapped to his back. They waited for him to make a move with genuine apprehension in their eyes. As far as the Ursa's were concerned, he was currently the biggest threat in this forest. Myles narrowed his eyes and took a step forwards. The Major rasped and pushed its infant back, baring its teeth at Myles. Myles frowned and took another step forwards.

The ground rumbled as the Major lifted one of its rear legs and took a step back. Myles smirked, being careful not to expose any teeth so bears didn't feel threatened any further. He resisted the urge to laugh as the thing that had caused him so much fear backed away from him. He turned and walked back towards the staircase.

A growling rasp sounded from behind him and rather than seeing, he felt the creature move to crush him under its massive paw once more. He kicked his back legs out and spun on his front legs to face the Major again, charging another blast from the crystal and taking aim before the Major's eyes rolled backwards and it seemed to pass out. He allowed the energy to dissipate and with a wheezing exhale the beast fell forwards. Myles barely made it out from under the spot where it landed in time. The Minor crawled over the Majors arm and nuzzled against its snout. Myles waited a moment but sighed with relief as the Minor continued to push against its mother, who exhaled and blew Myles' mane about as the wind rushed about him. He turned again and began to stalk away when he was interrupted again by a nearby howl.

Myles actually snarled as he turned to the source of this sound. A wooden profile stood atop a mound of vines, its yellow eyes glowing as it howled again. Dozens more points of yellow light appeared on the top of and in between the vines. More growling filled the air as the howling ceased and the entire pack of timberwolves glared at the unconscious feast before them, its pathetically mewling offspring and the small foolish pony standing before them.

He turned around again and walked calmly towards the stairs. The wolves jumped to the ground, surrounding the Ursa Minor as it whimpered pathetically. Myles lip curled in frustration as he heard the Minor roar and a hollow rattle as a timberwolf was swatted out of the air and scattered across the clearing. A roar of pain echoed as the Minor felt teeth sink into its shoulder. The Minor had nearly killed him and now he stood with his back to it as its impending death snarled and snapped at it. He took a few more steps and grinned as he thought he'd have one less reason to be cranky about his job tomorrow. Then Myles stopped, its latest cries striking a chord in Myles and his own line of thought reminding him of the something he heard after the last time he'd dealt with the Minor.

_"__It was just cranky."_

Myles shook his head and frustration and turned around yet again, blasting the two timberwolves biting into the Minor's back with one magical pulse and reducing them both to splinters. The Minor looked at him in shock.

"Well!?" Myles shouted and every point of yellow light turned its attention to him, "Who's first? YOU?!" He charged energy in his horn and fired a shot at the timberwolf who had summoned the pack. It yelped as it barely ducked under the blast and lost an ear to the edge of a beam of magical energy. Every timberwolf was on its feet and growling at him now, but they were backing away. Their wooden teeth bared, each timberwolf shuffled back the way they came, those on the ground scrambling back up over and between the vines to retreat. The crystal on Myles' back stopped humming, it's power depleted. Myles raged on, settling for shouting at the desperately fleeing pack.

_"__No promises, doc."_

He galloped forwards to the top of a pile of vines, causing the timberwolves nearby to scatter, yelping in fear and jostling each other to get away from him. "Is that all!?" Myles' eyes were wide with manic rage as he glared at the retreating creatures. "Why? AREN'T YOU HUNGRY? TAKE A SHOT! ALL OF YOU! RIGHT HERE AND NOW! COOOOOOOOOOOMMMME ANNNNNNNNNND GET IIIIIIIIT!" He swung his head back and forth wildly as he extended the last sentence. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? YOU MIGHT GET LUCKY! TWO URSAS AND A PONY AND YOU ONLY HAVE TO FIGHT THE PONY! SO WHO'S FIRST?!" He snorted and bared his teeth at them. "WHO WANTS TO GET MAULED BY A BUCKING PONY?! HUH?!" His voice echoed through the basin only accompanied by the yelps of the retreating timberwolves. He glanced back at the Minor and its mother, who is blinking itself awake. Both of them recoil at his gaze and then relax when he turns away again and stalks back towards town. His own words echo in his mind as he shudders and gasps, his strength drained. Myles begins to limp home, his hooves feeling like lead weights at the end of each leg. His gait is deliberate and resolute, the only betrayals to his weakened condition being his heavy lidded eyes and the echoing slap of his hooves as they dig into the dirt with every step.

_"__Not while I breathe."_

The Everfree forest isn't quiet anymore. The tiny creatures, birds and insects have returned to their respective homes now that there is no longer a rampaging Ursa Major on the loose. However frantic calls and chattering sound from all directions at once and fill the woods with incessant noise. The creatures only fall silent at the approach of a lone pony with a crystal on his back and a grim expression. Within a certain radius around Myles every creature holds its breath and only exhales when he has passed their home. The sound returns to these areas slowly, but soon the calls become louder and more frantic than before.

A hush falls over the edge of the woods as Myles approaches the barrier and shuts it down. A zebra stands aghast at the sight before her, having waited for his return but not expecting what she heard the forest speak around her as he walked past her. She blinked and regained her senses before speaking.

"Your strength is proven to these woods.

I hope it was for the common good."

Myles turned his head to face her and glared. Another's words echoed in his mind as he panted, gritting his teeth at the zebra.

_"__Your strength is proven to the world, whether you would believe in it yourself or not."_

Zecora looked nervous and actually stepped back as she met his eyes.

"Today's trial is over but you must know more,

The fight you fought was not-"

"No," Myles stomped towards her with renewed vigor and brought his face within inches of hers, "No more riddles or rhymes today. I've had enough of it for the past several weeks."

"But this thing we must tell y-"

"No, you must not. I plan to sleep well tonight. You save your premonitions for another day." Myles eyes narrowed with each word. Myles had every intention of leaving Zecora there without another word and heading directly for home, but he stopped and turned once more. "I'm sorry, but I need some time. Today… the past few weeks…" He shook his head and Zecora simply nodded.

"Though this will not allay your fears,

I caution you to trust your ears."

He didn't bother turning to acknowledge her as he made his way back to his house and let the crystal battery fall to the floor as he pulled the straps loose. He slumped down on his bed and sighed. Adrenaline still pumped through his veins and he struggled to lay still and relax even as his vision swam and darkened from fatigue. His situation wasn't helped by the thoughts that plagued him and after a few more moments he growled out loud and got to his feet. He made his way upstairs and floated a crystal out of one of the chests and set it back on top of the closed lid. He shot a beam of magic into the crystal and his shoulders slumped as he watched it emit a soft light and listened to its hum.

"I know this is … Twilight's field of research but… I'm not sure how to tell her this without causing her undue stress, and at the same time I feel it should be recorded somewhere. I believe I've learned something about friendship. You have to be able to forgive ponies. Or anything else. They have their own problems and you can't know all of them, but those problems are there. They're dealing with their issues when you walk into their lives and all of that is on them when they interact with you. Even if what they do or say seems like an attack on you personally, you are just a small part of what they are seeing right now. No matter how much what they did hurts or for how long, it wasn't all for you, it was the sum of their troubles up to that point. This applies to strangers and friends alike, but there's a world of difference between the two."

He pants a few times and takes a deep breath before continuing.

"Because a stranger you may never meet again. You will never know those other problems and you will never worry about being hurt by them again. Forgiving a stranger is easy. Forgiving a friend is much harder because you know those other problems. You know the weight they carry and they know yours and they still hurt you. And because you are friends and you know their troubles you might not say anything, but that just adds it to the pile of your own problems that you bring to the next encounter with them. You both hurt and you both bring that pain unless you forgive each other. If you forgive them you have more room for their troubles. Even if they don't forgive you, you can help them if you forgive them first. But it's difficult, because the hurt of that action and all other actions are still there. So there's always the temptation to…" Myles inhaled and shakily continued, "To make them into strangers. Because then it's easy to forgive them, because you'll never have to deal with them again. You never know their pain and you don't add your own to it anymore, because it's too much to see them hurt. And maybe… deep down… you hold onto the pain, because no matter how much you understand about what they were going through, you're… frightened… of it happening again. You want to avoid the pain and you hide away.

I-…you can't do this to yourself. Nopony was meant to bear that pain alone and all it does is make you bitter and angry. So you have to take a chance and open yourself up to others. You have to try and endure the small bits of pain that come with opening up until you find those who'll be there for you because without help… you might find you've become something you don't want to be." Myles chuckled a bit before continuing, "And there will be other problems, other barriers that you may not be able to overcome on your own, but that's why you make more friends, because you need more friends to share your troubles with. The more friends you have, the less each one has to bear. But the best friends would bear it all if you asked them and that's the trouble, you can't let them carry you because for all you know it might destroy them."

He shudders a bit and his knees shake. His eyes water slightly before he blinks the moisture away and continues.

"Ponies keep telling me I'm strong, that I'm amazing or special in some way. And maybe they're right in some cases, but they don't know everything. Strength comes at a cost. Sometimes the cost is little and sometimes it's great. Often, you don't know how much it'll cost until you have to pay. I had a moment of weakness today and I fear I may have become something… undesirable… but I hope to be able to forgive those that hurt me before with the help of my new friends. And maybe… in time… they can forgive me for what I've done to others, though I cannot muster the strength to admit it to them tod-" Myles glanced outside and saw the setting sun and a crowd of ponies approaching the town, "Tonight. But I know this, I am _not _strong," he shakes his head, "I'm going to need help and I don't think I can make he- them… suffer through it. Deepest apologies for laying all this on you, but please don't tell Twilight and the others. I'm not really sure if that counts as a lesson on friendship, it doesn't all make sense to me." He smiled a bit, "I rambled a bit, didn't I? Oh well. I feel better and I hope this made enough sense to be a worthwhile contribution to the study of friendship. Maybe someday I'll make sense of it as well. For now, it's enough to know that somepony else will know."

Myles' horn glowed as he ended the recording spell and levitated the crystal over to him. He stumbled on his way down the stairs and set the crystal down on his work table, where it glowed with a soft pulsing light and hummed at a frequency only he could hear. His ears twitched as he picks up another sound, like wind rushing and echoing through a metal pipe. He frowned as he tilted an ear in confusion and the sound changed to something resembling a piece of metal grinding down a piano string. The sound faded into silence as Myles passed out on his bed.

"-yles! MYLES! WAKE UP!"

Myles cringed as his head spun and he tried to sit up, falling backwards onto his bed and alarming the mares standing beside his bed. He held up a hoof to keep them at a distance as he sat up.

"I'm AWAKE! Geez, Twilight, you know how much that bugs m- your Highness," he attempts to bow as he spots Celestia but his knees shake and he succeeds only in falling forwards into a prone position on the bed.

"Stay still, Myles," Celestia spoke softly, "Twilight has told me of your newfound ability and how it affects you. I'm certain she didn't mean to harm you and was merely concerned with your health. There's no need to stand on ceremony here, we are trespassers in your new home." The Princess smiles and glances around at his tower as Twilight steps forward.

"Sorry Myles," she looked apologetic for now but the hints of frustration and anger rose behind her eyes, "But you didn't reply and-" Myles growled and struggled to his hooves.

"You assumed I'd done something stupid and hurt myself. Honestly Twilight, this is getting old. Not to mention a little offense-" He was cut off as a hoof struck him in the face, knocking him back to the bed. Twilight looked furious.

"I'm terribly sorry for worrying about you. I shouldn't for a second have questioned the great and powerful Myles Shardsole because nothing can stand up to him, can it? Nothing. Well don't worry about me being concerned anymore, clearly you can take care of yourself." She stomped out of his house and slammed the door.

Myles struggled to his hooves once more and the Princess helped him up with her magic. "Twilight may be too angry to see it right now, but I remember you, Myles. Even you aren't that socially inept, so what's going on?" She looked at him skeptically as he laughed.

"Wow, Princess," he grinned up at her, "that was almost insulting me directly, something bothering you?"

"You know I care about Twilight's wellbeing as much as I do your own and the rest of my subjects," her eyes narrow as she gazes at him, "but I will not tolerate this sort of behavior without reason and I know you have a reason, even if you don't bother to think of it until after you do something you always have a reason!" Her voice increased in volume and her hair billowed behind her as if blown by an invisible wind. Myles eyes widened but he continued to smile.

"Well well well," he began quietly, "For once I know something that Princess Celestia doesn't and watch as she handles it with such royal decorum…" He chuckles to himself as the Princess scowls and then regains her composure. She looks ready to speak again but he cuts her off. "Sorry, your highness, couldn't help myself. I've had a long day and it was just so refreshing to see you on the wrong end of some secrets after you've kept so many from me." She frowned and opened her mouth again before he cut her off once more. "But like you said, I had my reasons, even if I haven't figured them out yet. What little information I have is on that crystal," he indicates the crystal on his worktable with his hoof, "And you are welcome to it on one condition."

Celestia's eyes narrowed dangerously, "You interrupt royalty, insult your friends and dare to give me caveats on information about my own kingdom." Her eyes soften and she lays a hoof on his head before she continues speaking gently, "What on Equestria happened to you today?"

He chuckles before answering, "Oh…. Nothing major. The most I can tell you is on that crystal, though you may need your sister's help to understand some of it. I am truly sorry that I can't tell you everything, perhaps another time, but for now that should be everything important."

"And your condition?"

"Don't tell Twilight." He shakes his head, "At least not yet. I'm sure she'll have to hear it someday and I trust your judgment on when that time has come. At the moment I don't have the strength to deal with the fallout from it. Maybe someday. Just not now. Another time…" His eyelids flutter shut as he pitches forwards. Celestia catches him and floats him down to his pillow safely before drawing the covers over his unconscious form.

She silently picks up the crystal and hides it beneath one of her wings before walking to the door and hesitating. She turns back and looks at the dirt-covered stallion sleeping peacefully on his bed and speaks one last time before quietly locking and closing his door.

"You ask much of me, Myles. You request trust not easily given. However my sister and Twilight speak highly of you which leads me to believe you may be worthy of it. This crystal won't shed light on much, I'm sure, but you have your moments of cleverness and your strength has proven great. What troubles me is that you clearly ask even more of yourself. Too much, I fear. I hope one day you will trust us enough to allow us to help you."

**Cryptic allusions to a character's past and future? More mysterious noises in the night along with some attempted warnings from Zecora? Some slightly sloppy character development? Did I just accidentally a story arc?**

**Well… no. First of all it wasn't an accident as such and I did plan some of it. Of course, as per usual it didn't turn out exactly as I expected. Secondly, I don't have the rest of it planned out but I will connect it. I love story arcs and I hope mine turns out okay despite the fact that I'm making most of it up as I go along.**

**Sorry to those of you who have been waiting. I had some issues with getting ahead of myself and writing some ponies out of character, not to mention the story taking a few strange turns. A few I'm still unsure about, but I have to keep reminding myself that there's no pressure here and that's part of the fun. **

**Dunno if you can tell but I'm getting a little attached to the manticore. Bit obvious as she keeps showing up. As I watch the show some more for inspiration I keep finding things that come up for one episode and never show up again. Being as the Ursa Major is one of those things and Myles' interesting history with the Minor, when I had the idea to bring it back as part of something else I rolled with it. Then promptly got stuck for a few weeks. Almost lost sight of what I was originally foreshadowing. As it stands there's a larger shadow enveloping that one now, so I suppose I did. Hopefully whatever comes out of this works well.**

**Normally this is where I would muse about strange inconsistencies and eccentricities about the show, but it's kind of hard to do that when this deviates so much from the episode. The episode itself is okay, but there's not much to discuss and as you've seen, I utilized the town's complete attention on the Running of the Leaves to put Myles into a desperate situation and allow him to grow a bit. Perhaps too much. **

**The only real question I have about this episode has surely been noted before as it was by Myles. Winter Wrap-up was only two episodes ago, why is it fall now? Furthermore, why do we never see any of these holidays twice? Four complete seasons and each one has only occurred once? Don't tell me it's still the same year either because we already have Fall after Winter and another winter coming up for Hearths Warming Eve. Either Equestria has the most erratic orbit around its respective star ever or they're just hoping we don't notice because they can't think of something else for some reason. Or since the rise and fall of the sun is controlled by a magical princess here it may be safe to say the same rules don't apply.**

**Then again, the rules of our world seem to mostly apply inside the Everfree Forest without help from ponykind, only slightly corrupted and warped by this worlds inherent magic. So there's some connection there, however slight and blurred. I wonder if that's going to be important at some point in this story, not to mention the show.**

**Terribly sorry, but no bonus points for catching on to what I hope is a very subtle reference because I don't want people posting the answer in case they ruin it for someone else. It certainly won't be the last allusion I make since that helped me get around my writers block and its already sort of there. If you haven't figured it out by now, you'll understand later, so no demanding people tell you what it is. After all…**

**Spoilers.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	14. Book 1- Ch 14

**Alrighty, let's get this underway. No preface for this chapter because I only have one thing to say right now…**

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Suited for Success or Invisible Fractures

The crystal hummed gently. Thrumming in time with the smaller crystals as Myles sat down and let out a sigh of contentment. The sounds were beautiful, forming a three-part harmony amidst a cacophony of tones out of unison. A wave of peace washed over the stallion as he tuned out the other crystals and enjoyed his work.

"It must sound amazing," Luna said quietly, causing Myles to turn around and bow his head briefly before turning back to the crystals and smiling.

"Only if you tune out the others," Myles shrugged, "And when I get around to getting them all in harmony, then it will sound truly amazing. Unless you have a reason why I shouldn't…?" He glanced back at Luna with an eyebrow raised, "Because I can't think of many other reasons why you'd be here, in my not-really-a-dream, except to tell me about it." He frowned, "This isn't about Princess Celestia, is it? Because she told me she hadn't taken offense after our last talk…"

"Nay, Shardsole," Luna smiled, "Your spirit has not offended either our sister or us of late." Her expression hardened, "What makes you say this is no dream?"

"It flummoxed you," Myles frowned and looked away, "You have the power to walk into pony's dreams as though they were real and change them from anywhere. You know more about the subject than anyone and in all this time you've not given me any information willingly. Since you, the supreme authority on dreams here, are either unable to tell what this is or feel for some reason that I don't need to know what it is, this is not only unusual, it's quite possibly a first for you. You, the thousand and something year old ruler of the night itself. No offense meant, you've kept well."

Luna briefly smiled before returning to her somber expression, "Though your deduction is sound, for once you may be wrong in your hypothesis. My very presence here is proof of that."

"Doesn't mean it's a dream," Myles' brow furrowed in frustrated thought, "Just near enough for you to be here and not know the difference until you looked closer. But there are other clues as well."

"Truly? Please enlighten us with your findings, Shardsole."

"It's not much, but given our prior conversations it seems like a bad idea to ignore anything. Recently I was under a significant amount of stress due to some information I was given and I had some nightmares related to it. They appeared to start here, but as the dream progressed, the environment changed and became more…nightmareish. After that was taken care of I realized something else. The nightmare I had only vaguely resembled this place to begin with. This place on the other hand," he tapped one of the crystals in front of him on a jagged point, "Exactly the same, every time, to the last detail. Which means the nightmare was my subconscious memory of this place coming back in another dream, warped by the limits of my ability to recall it, and this …" He gestured with his front hooves to the cave around them, "_IS _the same place, every time. Not only that, but its consistency and your inability to drive it away make me suspect that… well, it's always here."

"In your mind?"

"Maybe not even there. The nightmare proves I don't have the ability to recall this place with as much clarity as it reappears. If I can't do that subconsciously, maybe I can't do it in any capacity. I think… I think this place might exist somewhere else entirely, all the time, and I just visit it on some nights… somehow." He shakes his head and shrugs, "That last part is a bit of a leap, but honestly, this feels different from my dreams in a way I can't put my hoof on."

"We understand exactly what you mean and that is precisely why we must ask you to ignore this dream."

"What?"

"If you ever find yourself in this dream again, you must close your senses to it. Your eyes _and_ ears. You must ignore this place."

"Why," Myles asks flatly as his eyes narrow.

"Wh- because it is unnatural and dangerous-"

"Because it frightens you, correct?"

"Excuse me?"

"This place, whatever it is, scares you. You can't control it and you can't identify it. So you want me to leave it alone. And why, I wonder. I'm here for a reason and I'm also quite possibly your best hope of figuring this out, so why not let me figure it out?"

"I cannot allow you to endanger yourself on what could possibly be a trap or other danger of some sort-"

"So you don't know anything, right? Because otherwise you'd have told me by now."

"Shardsole, I must insist that you listen to reason-"

"We."

"What?"

"It would be: 'We must insist.' You dropped the royal third person, again. Possibly because this place troubles you so much that you forget. You begin to speak like you are accustomed to, like Nightmare Moon spoke for a thousand years and like you only normally speak with your sister when you are discussing things that aren't for the ears of anypony else but royalty."

"I- we cannot believe our ears! You grow too bold, Shardsole!" Luna's eyes glimmered with purple light and her hair flapped as though blown by an invisible wind. "We command you to leave this place alone!"

"No!" Myles rounded on her and stalked forwards. Luna's eyes faded to their normal appearance and she took a step back as Myles advanced towards her with a stern expression. "No order, command or royal decree is keeping me from this place. No more secrets. You and your sister keep all your subjects in the dark because you think it's best for some reason. You say it's for our protection, but is it? Or is there only one thing that scares you more than not knowing something? Maybe the only thing that frightens you more than this place is the idea that somepony else might discover its power and keep it from you. And that's the funny part, actually," Myles stopped advancing and snorted, hot air billowing Luna's hair and stopping its magically windswept effect, "Because if you or your sister had divulged anything, if you had even admitted to me that you found out _nothing_ about this place, I wouldn't hesitate to tell you as soon as I figured it out. But now?" Myles laughed harshly, "Now I'll have to give it some thought."

Luna's eyes shimmered brighter and her hair billowed as before, her voice resounding off the walls of the cave as she shouted, "YOU DARE! YOU DARE DEFY THE RULE OF THE MY SISTER AND I?! YOU DARE ACCUSE US OF DECEPTION OUT OF SELFISH DESIRE?!"

"Yes! Actually I do. The first one anyways, the second one only in a technical sens-"

"YOU MUST LEARN YOUR PLACE! YOU MUST-"

"Then again, it wouldn't be the first time you acted out of selfish desire, would it?"

"What." Luna spoke dangerously, as though daring him to answer.

"You told me you'd wear it with humility, as a reminder."

"What?" Luna's eyes widened as her memory stopped her display of power. Myles pointed to her left flank. Her eyes widened further as she gazed upon the scar he'd left on her.

"Maybe I am being too bold, but you need to remember what happened the last time you kept someone in the dark, so to speak."

Luna began to breathe heavily, attempting to calm herself enough to speak, but Myles kept going.

"You all say I have strength, but like I told you and your sister, it comes at a cost. Your sister assigned me the task of keeping the Everfree Forest in line. I didn't ask why it was important, I just do it. Twilight and my friends ask for my help and I help them when I can even though I can't ask them the same or tell them what's going on. I have these … well not dreams, but I end up here and I ask you to help me figure it out and all I get is more dismissals and told that I don't need to know. The crystals are going nowhere, my friendships might be failing and watching the forest was a dead end to begin with. I _need_ something to hold onto. Something that I can do to make any kind of progress and not return to… the failure I was." Myles' head drooped for a moment before he glared at her in defiance again. "This is one thing I can accomplish myself and nopony, royalty or not, is standing in my way!" Myles' voice echoed through the chamber and for a moment every last crystal in the cave harmonized with him. His ears perked up and he glanced around nervously as the crystals resumed their previous tones and timing. Luna looked frustrated.

"Dreams are my jurisdiction, Shardsole, even if you are right to demand answers in this situation, you cannot hope to keep me ignorant of your findings."

"Really? Because I have a theory about that, if you'd been paying attention. If you recall, I hypothesized that this isn't a dream at all because you don't have power over it."

"And if you are correct, you have even less control over this place!"

"Wrong! I just thought of a way to test my theory, because I recall one important fact about this place. I woke up here. You, on the other hoof, followed me into what you thought was a dream. That means I'm _supposed_ to be here. And _you. __**Are.**_ _**Not**__._" Myles stared Luna down as she looked nervous.

Myles blinked.

Luna had vanished.

"Thought so…," Myles said with satisfaction, "Now that harmony a few moments ago, let's find out what that was abo-" He was interrupted by a dull tone.

"No. No! NO!" Myles shouted as the world around him faded and he woke up.

He slammed a hoof onto the detection crystal, shutting it off and displaying the origin of the alert. He slipped the bracer on and galloped to the tree line. He ground a hoof into the dirt as he waited. After a minute or so the bushes rustled and a pack of timberwolves bounded through the underbrush and skidded to a stop in front of him, their glowing yellow eyes widening in surprise. The timberwolf in front was missing an ear and began to growl at Myles before he reeled backwards and yelped as a hoof cracked the wood of his snout.

"I'm not in a very magical mood right now so… hey!" He smacked the creature's advancing snout, smiling with satisfaction as he heard it crack like its leader's had. "Unless you want to get stomped into splinters I suggest you go back where you came from." The wolves hesitated. "Now," Myles said sternly as his eyes narrowed. The pack kept its eyes on him as they retreated back into the darkness, then turned tail and ran. He sighed as he turned back to his home and nearly ran into Rarity.

"Oh! Dreadfully sorry, dear. I've been trying to get a hold of you and when I saw you outside I thought- Myles!" She called after him as he stalked back towards his home. Myles growled as his door glowed blue and shut in front of him. "Myles! You can't keep avoiding us!"

"Believe it or not I've reached my limit of tolerance for ponies telling me what I can't do," Myles scowled, "What do you want?"

"Well," Rarity looked haughtily at him, "for now I want to ask if you'd like me to make you a suit for the Gala, which I hope you are still going to, despite the fact that you have let this disagreement between Twilight and yourself get out of hand and stopped speaking to your friends. And I suppose if there's time I'd like to handle that second part."

Myles stopped scowling out of shock, "…You still want me to come to the Gala?"

"Of course! Why ever would you think I- we wouldn't want you to come anymore?"

Myles' expression hardened as he took note of her slip-up, "The same reason I get the feeling that sentiment isn't unanimous among your friends."

"Our friends, Myles," Rarity looked stern, "They are still just as much your friends as mine."

"Yeah well I'm not sure I want them to be!" Myles growled angrily.

"You don't mean that. Applejack told me about how you were before and you've been considerably happier since you opened up to the rest of us. You can't go back to the way you were, you'd go mad! I know we have our eccentricities, but-"

"THAT'S NOT-" Myles stopped himself as Rarity recoiled, "Sorry. That… You… and the others… are not the issue…" Myles voice faded as he continued and he hastily looked away.

"And I suppose you won't tell me what the issue is then?" Rarity huffed before continuing, "Well at least come by the shop so I can fit you for a suit for the Gala."

Myles frowned and attempted to open his front door with his magic when his horn fizzled and sparked. He sighed heavily and turned back to Rarity, "After you then…"

Myles stood awkwardly on the platform Rarity had led him to as she levitated the measuring tape around him. Occasionally he jumped in surprise as the tape brushed against him out of sight and every time he did this Rarity crossly instructed him to keep still.

"You sure you're not measuring me for a straight-jacket? What kind of suit goes down that far?" Myles asked skeptically as Rarity measured from the tip of his hoof to the inside of his front leg, poking him in the chest as she did so.

"The one designed by me might."

"Might? You mean you don't know yet?" Myles asked indignantly, turning his head to her briefly before she placed a hoof on his cheek and moved his head back into a neutral position.

"Stay still, dear. It's still in the planning stages, but rest assured it'll look smashing on you."

Myles glanced around at the other clothing forms, which were all adorned with dresses clearly themed to be worn by their friends. "Shouldn't you finish everypony else's outfits first?" He kept as still as possible, but his lip twitched involuntarily as he spotted a star covered dress he couldn't help imagining on a certain mare. Rarity didn't seem to notice as she sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

"The girls' dresses are awaiting… approval by their owners before I finish them up."

"Something wrong?"

"I… it's nothing, dear."

"Certainly doesn't sound like nothing."

"Well it is, dear, so just keep still," Rarity answered irritably, poking him hard in the belly as she continued measuring him. The tape fell to the ground as Rarity was surprised by a knock on the door that continued rapidly and eagerly in a way Myles recognized instantly with a smirk.

"Pinkie Pie's here," Myles glanced towards the door and raised his eyebrows at Rarity, who frowned as she moved to answer the door.

"Now dear, that's a tad presumptuous, Rainbow Dash is also prone to hammering on my door at … Hello… Pinkie Pie," Rarity pursed her lips and deliberately ignored Myles triumphant expression as she stepped aside, "Do come in. I'll be with you in a minute."

"Okay! Is Rainbow Dash coming too? Can we have a dress-fitting party? Why were you guessing who was at the door? The only pony I know who does that is- Oh hey Myles!" Pinkie bounced eagerly over to where he stood and grinned widely at him, "Long time, no see! Well not really long, but it feels like forever! You missed Rainbow's new routine unveiling party and the Apple family's three months until harvest party!"

"The Apple family celebrates three months before harvest?"

"They didn't used to, but then they mentioned how busy they always were during the harvest so I threw them one in advance! They were so surprised! It was great!"

Myles chuckled a bit and shook his head, which Rarity pushed back into place with a hoof and another "Keep still."

"Ooooh, Rarity's making you a dress too, huh?"

"Ye- wait what? No!" Myles turned to Pinkie in shock as she laughed and Rarity pushed him back into place.

"I'm making him a suit, dear," Rarity pursed her lips as she continued measuring, "But even he won't look as handsome as he should if he won't stay still!"

Myles furrowed his eyebrows and tried not to look around at Rarity as Pinkie giggled.

"He looks antsy," She giggled again, "Maybe you should let him sit down for a bit."

Rarity sighed, "Very well, sit down, Myles." Myles exhaled deeply in relief and stepped off the platform, sitting against the wall. Pinkie and Rarity made their way over to an overly pink dress that could only belong to Pinkie. Pinkie was exuberant as always, though she seemed more stubborn as she finished up. "Streamers!"

"Streamers?" Rarity asked with barely hidden exasperation.

"Who's dress is it?"

"Streamers…" Rarity sighed.

"Pinkie, don't you think you should let Rarity decide what to put on the dress? If she doesn't like the idea of streamers there's probably a good reason to leave them off." Myles frowned a bit at the jovial pony as he watched Rarity gather strands of colored paper and began attaching them to Pinkie's dress.

"But she asked us what we thought of her dresses and insisted we tell her what we wanted!"

"That does sound like her, but c'mon Pinkie, streamers?" Myles chuckled, "I may not know anything about fashion but it seems like you'd be tripping over them all night."

"Rarity will make it work! I know she can!" Pinkie Pie bounced happily out the door as Rarity sighed.

"That doesn't mean you have to make her," Myles grumbled with a frown.

"Back on the platform, darling," Rarity lilted sadly.

"Rarity," Myles asked cautiously, "How long have you been working on those dresses?"

"What?" Rarity looked thoughtful for a few moments, "A week and a half tomorrow, why?"

"When did you first finish them?"

"A little over a week ago. What are you getting at, Myles?"

"Why not just say 'no?'"

"Sorry?"

Myles turned to her and looked stern, "Tell them you know what you are doing and to accept what you give them."

Rarity appeared shocked, "But the customer must be satisfied. Not to mention they're my friends! I wouldn't want to let them down in a million years!"

"Even if it was for their own good?"

"What?"

"Pinkie might hurt herself tripping over those streamers."

Rarity suddenly looked furious, "Really? Well since you are such an expert on dresses, perhaps you should finish hers while I take care of the others."

"I didn't say I was an expert, I just want Pinkie… all of you to be safe."

"Pinkie has faith in my dressmaking ability. She and the rest of the girls trust me not to make something they'll be strangled in. I'd say the same for the suit I was making you, but perhaps you'd feel better if it was examined for booby traps first."

"Rarity, liste-"

"No, you listen!" Rarity was suddenly inches from his face and he recoiled in surprise, "I am honored to be making dresses for my friends and I will not accept anything other than complete satisfaction. You may leave, your suit will be ready within the week."

"I thought you weren't done measuring."

"I have the basic measurements, dear," Rarity stated huffily, "Your suit will fit you and look splendid, though I cannot guarantee your comfort. Please leave, I need space to work."

"I'm sorry, Rarity," Myles lip twitched, "I didn't mean to-"

"HMPH!" Rarity huffed and ignored him as he sighed and left the shop. He gingerly closed the door and had a sudden sense of déjà vu as he turned around and nearly ran into Twilight Sparkle.

"What did you do to Rarity now?" Twilight demanded with a scowl.

"She asked me to come in for a fitting," Myles replied, immediately on the defensive, "In fact she kind of forced me to come along."

"And you managed to offend her again. I must admit you have a knack for that."

"I'm not the one working her to death with ridiculous dresses."

"Rarity's dresses are amazing," Twilight scowled deeper.

"I'm sure they were before you all changed them."

Myles' head whipped back and to the side as a hoof connected with it.

"How dare-! Hey! Get back here!" Twilight shouted after him as he walked calmly to his house.

"Sorry," he called over his shoulder, "Got more pressing business to attend to. Maybe another time."

Myles glanced around and his eyes widened in shock.

"No," he breathed.

He looked around rapidly for the exit he knew should be there. It was a door he used as often as he could and relished the times when he had ability to do so. Yet the exit to his childhood home was nowhere to be found in the short amount of time he had to search before a deafening voice echoed through the tiny hall.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

Myles clapped his front hooves over his ears and sank to the ground, gritting his teeth in pain and ignoring the ponies approaching him.

"I AM TALKING TO YOU, MYLON SHARDSOLE!"

Myles' pupils narrowed to pinpoints and his eyes went wide as he was consumed by rage he thought he'd left behind. He stood up and confronted the two shadowy shapes that had stopped behind him.

"NO! WE TRIED THAT! DOZENS OF TIMES WE TRIED TALKING, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?!" Hot air swept the shadows away, both the figures and the home banished by the rage that whirled forth from Myles' nostrils as he stepped forwards, "Talking does jack all when the other pony only pretends to listen."

From the empty void behind him, Myles heard a soft clapping as an alicorn beat her hooves against the non-existent ground in feigned applause. Instead of turning around, he sat down on the invisible surface he previously stood upon.

"Yes," Luna continued clapping, "See how the protector of Ponyville handles his troubles with such … decorum."

"Don't," Myles breathed, "If you won't listen, then don't interfere. I have to do this and you aren't stopping me."

"You do not command US! You overestimate your ability!"

"DON'T YOU GET IT?! THAT DOESN'T MATTER!"

"Myles?!"

Myles gasped as his eyes snapped open and he rolled to his side, quickly tucking his feet underneath him and coming to a standing position. His breathing slows to a normal pace as he looks around and sees his home, quiet and vacant save for one blue pegasus.

"What do you want?"

"Okay Mr. Snippy, I just wanted to let you know you need to be in the town square to show off the suit Rarity made you."

"To who?" Myles blinked in confusion.

"Some bigwig fashion designer that Spike somehow knew organized a fashion show for our outfits for the Gala. So we need somepony to wear the suit since it's a part of the collection." Rainbow frowned at him and he frowned right back before trudging down the stairs and out his front door.

"I'll be there for Rarity," He said quietly.

"Whatever," Rainbow rolled her eyes as she flew towards the town square. He followed at a steady pace, approaching the quickly built stage in a few short minutes. He glared at the crowd, which seemed to consist of the entire town and one pony who was either wearing a wig or had actually cemented his hair into shape. As Myles watched, a brown earth pony slid a cushion behind the wig pony and his eyes bulged as the pony sat on his nose. The earth pony struggled and then freed himself, shaking his head. He turned and looked directly at Myles, his expression broadening to a grin. Myles' troubled look was interrupted by a large black cloth suddenly covering his face. He struggled for a bit before he realized it was his suit and pushed his front hooves through the sleeves so he could see who had assaulted him. Twilight Sparkle left without saying a word to him and he followed her backstage. He looked around desperately for Rarity and couldn't find her before music started and Spike began introducing the event.

He felt himself being pushed on stage first, a sharp pain coming from his thigh as a horn poked him. Evidently Twilight didn't trust him to follow behind them. He walked on stage first and the crowd mildly applauded but soon stopped abruptly. He made it to the end of the runway and turned back to see the other girls suddenly looking nervous as the crowd muttered and gasped. Spike said something else and he heard the music come to a stop as the crowd dispersed. He tried to pay attention but was constantly distracted by his suit tightening in an uncomfortable place when he stopped moving. He stalked into the back again and gingerly stepped out of his suit, then galloped off towards Rarity's shop.

He had only been a few seconds behind her, but regardless when he arrived she was locked into her house, leaving the shop open. He heard sobs coming from Rarity's room and started pulling things out of her garbage can and setting them aside.

"What are you doing?"

Myles ignored the voice behind him and the mumbling of a few others as he finally spotted six crinkled papers at the bottom of the bin. He lifted them out with magic and spread them as flat as he could on the floor. Rarity's original designs lay before him and he let out a frustrated sigh as he felt a hoof on his shoulder.

"Hey! I aske-"

Myles rounded on Twilight as his eyelid twitched, "I'm trying to help a friend. However I can. Stay out of my way." He pushed her aside gently as he grabbed some fabric and levitated some scissors over to cut it. The cut ended up being uneven, but he placed it over the dress form regardless and cut another piece before grabbing thread and attempting to attach it to the first piece. He growled out loud as the thread split and tugged its way out of the fabric.

"Um, you'll need to knot the end for starters and you should be using a cross stich for that section."

Myles raised an eyebrow as he looked up at Fluttershy with confusion. The others stared at her with similar expressions.

"You know," she mumbled, "if you want to, I mean."

Myles gestured to the designs on the floor, "You can read those?" Fluttershy nodded ever so slightly. "Good, you can stay and help. The rest of you, out."

"Excuse me?!" Twilight cried indignantly.

"Out. Now."

"We're here to help Rari-"

"Haven't you done enough already?" Myles demanded as he turned to her again. She quickly looked away in shame. Myles groaned, "Sorry, that was uncalled for, but I don't have time to go through all this with you, if we're lucky that smug jerk won't leave until morning, so we have at least that long to get these done."

The others filed past him and each picked up a design, bringing it to a workspace and spreading it out. They began to gather materials.

"I told you to-"

"Sorry, but we don't have time to go through all this with you. We have work to get done." Twilight smiled at him.

He smiled back warmly and laughed, relishing the first positive interaction he'd had with Twilight in over a month until she coughed and went to a workstation. He thought he heard a soft snickering coming from the direction of a certain blue pegasus, but he was briefly distracted by a faint noise of metal on wire. When the noise faded, he shook his head and began to work.

Myles sat at a familiar table with his head supported by his front legs, which were crossed over the table.

"I'm not trying to be ungrateful. I AM grateful! I know how much you've done and that's why I feel awful about not getting anywhere because I haven't just DONE SOMETHING!"

"You can't handle it, honey. You know why. We want you to try but we don't want you-"

"-to get hurt? You still aren't listening. THIS hurts more. I know what I should do but I can't do it because of… because I…"

Myles scowled and shook his head, dispersing the environment around him.

"Luna."

"Ohhhhhhhh," Luna mocked sympathy, "Is this one not to your liking? You could have fooled us." She appeared in front of him with a burst of smoke colored like the night sky. "You had this dream so many times while I was imprisoned. The memory is so vivid in your mind."

"Luna you have to stop-"

"YOU DO NOT COMMAND US!"

"Somepony else does, though."

Luna and Myles look around wildly for the source of the echoing voice.

"Who… what? Myles Shardsole?" Luna blinks in confusion, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, but Myles has some more pressing business to attend to. This will have to wait for another time."

"Myles! Wake up!"

Myles blinks as he takes in his surroundings. The girls stare at him worriedly, Twilight with a hoof on his shoulder and the rest as though they have just looked up from their work. He spots a brief flash of color from Rarity's door as her eye retreats from the keyhole. "What?"

"You were… well… you fell asleep and I thought… for a minute I thought I heard you crying… like you were in pain." Twilight's expression of concern caused Myles to quickly look away.

"Just a bad dream, that's all," He shook his head and wiped his eyes in case any moisture remained. "How are we doing?" Twilight frowned at him and stalked back to her workstation.

Looking around, Myles saw that some progress was made, though it had been slowed every time they had to interrupt Fluttershy and ask her advice. The dresses were nearly finished and Rainbow Dash pulled him aside despite his protests.

"Rainbow, we need to finish those dresses."

"Rarity designed your suit too," Rainbow pointed out, "And if we want that pompous jerk to like her designs, they all have to be perfect. So we gotta fix that suit so you can wear it without squirming around like it's filled with parasprites." She snickers to herself as Myles' expression sinks.

"Was it that obvious?" Myles sighed as he stepped onto the platform and Rainbow began taking his measurements.

"Dunno about the audience, but we noticed," Rainbow snickered again, "But Rarity told me what she'd done to your suit before…" She trailed off, looking troubled.

"Before you told her about the fashion show, right?"

"Yeah," Rainbow admitted, going back to the measurements, "Well it was Spike's idea, but we were all onboard with it. So this is just as much our fault as well…"

"You didn't know, you thought you were helping," Myles said consolingly.

"Yeah, I guess," Rainbow sighed and kept working for a bit, then glanced over her shoulder into the other room before turning back and speaking again in a hushed tone, "So when are you gonna pony up and start talking to us again? I mean, I get why you aren't talking to Twilight, but what did we do?"

"You didn't do anything," Myles said with quiet frustration, "I… I don't want to disappoint any of you…"

"Pfft," Rainbow suppressed her laugh, "Okay, I'll buy that reason for Twilight, but why do you care what the rest of us think?"

"Why wouldn't I care? Wait…" Myles hesitated, "Why does that reason work for Twilight?"

"Because you like her," Rainbow said casually.

"I like all of you," Myles feigned equal nonchalance with considerably less success, "You're my friends."

"But you like her more," Rainbow snickered again as he squirmed.

"I like you all equally," Myles insisted though his breathing sped up a bit due to his nerves, earning him a poke from Rainbow's hoof as she measured him.

"Really?" Rainbow walked around and stood face to face with Myles, "Because if I'd caught you staring at _me_ like that I'd have already beat some sense into you. No offense, Myles, you're just not my type."

"Huh?" Myles looked genuinely confused as Rainbow held a photo in front of his nose. He blinked as his eyes adjusted and allowed him to see a clear picture of Twilight embracing him outside his house and an unmistakable red coloration spreading across his face.

"Don't get me wrong, you're awesome," Rainbow tucked away the picture and went back to work, nudging Myles back into place when he tried to move, "It's a blast to watch you kick a monster ten times your size in the side, but then you go all egghead as soon as the adrenaline wears off. I mean, not all the time… but enough. Twilight probably always knows what you're talking about though and that's probably why you like her. Well…," she snickers again, "that's one reason anyways."

Myles began to let out a sigh before Rainbow placed a hoof on his chin and pushed him back into position so she could measure his neck. When she finished he relaxed his jaw and then continued, "Was it that obvious?"

She snickered again, "Dunno about the other girls, but I noticed. But as far as I know, I'm the only one who tried to get a picture because I thought you'd blown up your house less than a day after it was done. I thought I spotted it other times too, but the photo was the last bit of proof I needed."

"You were gonna take a photo of my blown-up house? What if I had died?" Myles hissed.

"Please," Rainbow rolled her eyes, "You had two houses fall on you before and _that_ didn't kill you, there was no way just one would've done the job. I thought it'd be a funny house-warming gift for your next house. Course then I got an even better picture. I thought about trying to use it to get you to do stuff for me, but that seemed a little too mean. To both you and Twilight. All done with the measurements," she stopped him as he began to step off the platform, "But you still haven't told me what you're so worried about. The reason you think we'd be disappointed in you?" She continued when he looked at her questioningly.

"Oh," he looked away nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof, "Look, can we talk about that another … another time?" Myles stumbled a bit as something clicked in his mind, then continued as though nothing had happened, "It's still kind of… fresh…"

"Fine," Rainbow narrowed her eyebrows, "But you have to start talking to us again."

"Right, sorry," He coughed, "And you aren't going to tell the others?"

"I won't tell Twilight," Rainbow grinned mischievously, "But I'll only avoid telling the others unless it comes up."

"That's… not very reassuring…"

"Well I don't want the others to ruin the fun. I'm betting the moment you have to tell Twilight yourself will be priceless."

Myles' face went pale as she laughed and patted him on the back, "Back to work, Myles," she said as she went back to the workstations in the other room. He steadied his breathing and made his way back to finish up the dress he had been working on.

"Is this really necessary?" Myles muttered while Rainbow struggled to keep Rarity's cat, Opal under control as she placed it in the tree next to the second floor window.

"We hafta get her outside," Applejack whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Wish it'd been so easy to talk to you, sugarcube."

"Sorry," he mumbled as Rarity came to her window to check on the commotion, "I don't really think I can talk about it though, it'll-"

"-Hafta wait fur another time, ah know, sugarcube."

Myles stayed silent as he watched the others present her dress to her and apologize for their mistake. He smiled as Rarity turned to him.

"Myles, I should have-"

"Rarity, you went above and beyond for the sake of your friends and I tried to get you to stop. _I'm _sorry. And I'm sorry for shutting all of you out these past few weeks," Myles frowned. Rarity rushed forward and hugged Myles, then backed away and looked hopeful.

"Does that mean you'll tell us what's wrong?"

"Another time," Myles said with a smirk, "Right now, we have a fashion show to put on."

"Wha-huh?" Rarity did a double take and Myles laughed as he brought her around the side of the dress shop where the other dresses and his suit were displayed on the mannequins.

"You didn't think we'd let whats-his-name go back to Canterlot and tell people you couldn't make dresses, did you?"

Later on the fashion show went off as beautifully as one of Rarity's dresses. Myles even felt comfortable in his new suit, at first he thought it had looked a little raggedy, but now he saw that it was part of Rarity's design. It appeared as though he'd just come back from fighting monsters in the forest and was still ready to fit in at a high society party. It occurred to Myles that she may have designed the suit to be durable enough for that exact situation, but he decided he'd never put it through that if he could help it.

Myles was nervous about sharing his insecurities over his action in the Everfree Forest and his latest interactions with Princess Luna. However, the worries were driven from his mind as he heard the fashion designer demand a dozen of each outfit from Rarity. He glared at the designer and began to approach angrily when an idea occurred to him.

He returned to a panicky Rarity with his saddlebags full.

"Myles!" Rarity called to him as he approached, "I need to make a dozen of those dresses before the weekend!"

"So I heard," Myles smirked as he leaned over and let his saddlebag hit the ground, spilling out some of the crystals inside, "So this time, we're gonna streamline the process."

**Bout three and a half times.**

**That's how many times I'd say I restarted this chapter from scratch. The half is because I managed to salvage some from the last time but still ended up writing a whole bunch of new stuff. Almost went with the second one, except I couldn't figure out why it made me so mad. Then I realized I'd blown the entire story arc in one chapter. So I set about remaking the chapter to only have a little bit of that and much more of the actual episode. Now there's almost none of the story arc in there, but I still kinda want to take half of it out. See I was struck with some inspiration and figured out mostly where I'm going with this now and I'm still worried I'm not taking it slow enough.**

**On the other hand, I still have so much of season 1 to get through and now I have a better idea of where to take it. I took so long to get this chapter out and I've still got so much to do. And now I've got a major upheaval coming up in real life to make things slower, so I'm glad I kinda have a direction to march towards.**

**But enough about me. What the hay is going on in this story, huh? Lunas going a little nuts… again. Good thing somepony intervened. Betcha that's gonna be important. It's kinda weird to be dancing around this like you guys don't already know whats going on. I get the feeling a lot of you figured it out the first time and are just polite enough not to say anything. Thanks for that.**

**At least I know you don't know the other part yet, since it just came to me the other day and only one thing in this chapter could possibly be a reference to it, which is partly where it came from. Even then it's a bit of a stretch right now without all the information.**

**Don't worry, I'll try and update more to keep things moving so you wont have to wait as long. Some chapters may end up shorter because of this, but I'll do my best to keep them interesting. Of course the next chapter is something I've been looking forwards to as well as another one that I'm pretty sure many of you will be able to predict.**

**My own fault for making reference to it several chapters ago, I know. At least I can take solace in the fact that I got some information wrong and that may help keep it secret for a few seconds more.**

**Another time. (Okay okay. Sorry.)**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	15. Book 1- Ch 15

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Feeling Pinkie Keen or Surrounding Echoes

Myles sat on top of his tower, his front hooves crossed and leaning over the edge. He let out a long sigh and tapped the detection crystal again, shaking his head as he saw nothing.

"Ummm… hello… Myles…" he heard a voice mumble behind him. He lifted his head briefly to see a yellow pegasus settle onto the roof of his tower. He nodded to her briefly before setting his head on his front legs again.

"Hey Fluttershy," he said sadly, "What's up?"

"Ummm… well.. a few things, actually…" She stuttered to a stop but Myles patiently waited for her to continue, "Firstly, I have some frogs that need to be brought to Froggy Bottom Bog, since the pond is overpopulated now." She came to a stop as though awaiting a reply. Myles glanced around at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Alright… Are you asking for help transporting them or something? Why are you telling me, specifically."

"Oh," Fluttershy's eyes widened in realization, "I just wanted to give you the usual courtesy warning to let you know I'd be going into the Everfree Forest. I don't want to interrupt your work. I know how important it is to keep Ponyville safe."

"Everfree Forest?" Myles stood up and shot her a confused look, "I thought you were taking them to Froggy Bottom Bo-" Myles' eyes shot open as something clicked in his mind and he rounded on her suddenly, "You mean the swamp?!"

Fluttershy shrank a little at his sudden shout, but nodded sheepishly.

"Sorry," he said gently as he resumed speaking normally, "I didn't mean to startle you. I never knew the name of the… wait… have you been there before?"

"Ummm… yes. I told you I was going the other times as well. At least, I thought I did… Sorry if I didn't."

"No no, you definitely did," Myles rubbed his chin with a hoof thoughtfully, "I just never realized that was the bog you were talking about until now. Isn't it dangerous?"

"Well it is inside Everfree Forest, but it's always so peaceful there and the frogs and toads love it. I've never seen anything bigger than a frog in that swamp, even before the critters started fleeing."

"Alright, I guess it's okay then," Myles frowned, "Just give a shout if you get scared though, I'll come get you."

"Thanks Myles," she smiled gently, "Rarity's right, you are a lot nicer now."

He simply rolls his eyes and turns back to the wall around the roof. Suddenly he stops and turns back to Fluttershy.

"You meant the critters were fleeing from Froggy Bottom Bog, right?"

"Oh no! I thought I was clear about that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to confuse you. But that's actually the second thing I wanted to talk to you about, if you don't mind… I mean…"

"Go ahead Fluttershy, what is it?"

"You probably already know this, but a lot of smaller creatures have begun moving permanently out of the forest."

"Permanently? You're sure they're not just running away for a while like the birds a month ago?"

"Oh no, they're definitely moving away. They told me they're scared of the new monster they keep talking about. They're all super scared of it."

"Not the Ursas, right? They went back into hibernation, I checked up on them not two days ago."

"No, they keep saying it's scarier than the Ursas. Every critter that's come out of the forest for the past several weeks has been talking about it. I thought you would have heard of it by now…"

Myles shakes his head, "Sorry Fluttershy, been a little busy. What kind of creature is it?"

"That's what's so scary about it, they can't seem to agree about what it is."

"What, nothing has seen it?"

"Oh no, there were plenty of witnesses, but they all remember seeing something different. They can't even agree on what to call it."

"Did you ask what they know for sure?"

Fluttershy nodded, "Yes! But the stories are all different! It's pretty clear they all saw the same creature, but they can't agree on what it looks like because watching the creature fight was so terrifying. All the poor little things can seem to agree on is that it only goes after larger predators."

"Then why are they so worried? What makes this thing so scary?"

"It's very powerful. Some of them don't even think it's a creature, but some sort of spirit. At least that's what some of the names sound like, I think…"

"Can you remember some of the names? Maybe there's a hint there of what it really is."

"Um, okay… well one of them was… oh yes. 'Vengeful Light.' Then there's 'Rage of the Sun' and 'Inevitable Storm.'"

Myles nods grimly, "That certainly doesn't sound like your average monster, but a lot of predators in there have magical properties so they might be onto something…"

"There are a few more, but none of them are very descriptive and some other just don't make sense. Like 'The Mouse that Roars at Lions.' I don't think it's actually a mouse, though. I've talked with all of them and they can barely form a sentence, let alone come up with a scary name for some big monster or practice roaring."

Myles' brow furrowed in concentration, "Probably not a mouse, no, but I think the size comparison might be important. If it was large in size then it would have shown up by now unless it was hibernating. But if it was dormant the animals wouldn't be scared of it. Hmmm…I wonder if one of the parasprites got away? To a squirrel or a bird they might look the same."

"Maybe, but they multiply so fast… I doubt the animals would've missed it reproducing." Fluttershy let an expression of disgust cross her face before looking apologetic. "Anyways the animals all agree that it doesn't hunt for food and all the parasprites ever did was eat. This monster just destroys things and frightens poor innocent creatures!"

Myles nodded, "Until they run away and start making scary stories about it, but why?"

"I was hoping you could look into it," Fluttershy crouched and looked the other way nervously, "You know, if it's not too much trouble…" She jumped as Myles set a hoof on her shoulder reassuringly.

"I'll take care of it Fluttershy, thanks for letting me know."

Myles remained deep in thought as he made his way through the trees. Fluttershy's news troubled him in more ways than one. The news itself was bad enough, but Fluttershy spoke so quickly and even stopped apologizing as she relayed the information. To say this was unusual for Fluttershy was certainly an understatement. Myles couldn't recall another conversation with her that had contained so many clear sentences with no hesitation. She must've heard the story several dozen times from each critter for it to surpass her natural self-doubt about what she was saying.

Then there was the creature itself. He had plenty of information to go on, but all of it sounded like the sort of thing told around a campfire to scare colts. With some extra prompting, he had managed to get Fluttershy to tell him the rest of the stories the animals had given her. She had been right about some of the stories conflicting, however they all seemed to agree that it wasn't a particularly large creature. Of course that made its power all the more astonishing. His first thought had been of the swamp monster, but to his knowledge the creature only surfaced when agitated and he knew from experience that it didn't pursue anything outside of its swamp. He didn't blame it, since it still frightened him despite the fact that he had never laid eyes on it. At first he had been concerned with the idea of Fluttershy visiting the swamp alone, but as she had said, she was there on previous occasions with no incident. He suspected Fluttershy might actually be so quiet that she never disturbed the creature and secretly hoped he was right, since he was unsure how he would combat something he knew next to nothing about. He supposed he could always use a crystal battery to overpower it, but he had been reluctant to use them since his fight with the Ursa.

His work on crystal magic had stalled for the most part. He had gotten more proficient at making the crystal batteries and almost all the important crystals he relied on now had a back-up power source nearby, but he dare not use them in the way he had before. Despite several experiments he was unable to identify why channeling the magic through his horn had weakened him. He'd even gone back to the doctor to have his horn checked out to see if it was his condition. That had proven to be a dead end, as the doctor merely repeated that he hadn't seen anything like his condition and then immediately launched into a lecture about his use of magic, following Myles to the exit of the hospital and continuing even as he walked away from the physician.

His hearing had served him well, but while it functioned well for tuning crystals, it wasn't easy to convey or quantify his work without it being able to be experienced in some way. This realization led to the only real progress he'd made with his studies. He'd plunged himself into books about magic that he'd borrowed from Twilight a long while ago, studying why some of it produced visible light and some did not. By comparing the visible magic and the invisible variety he found that the invisible variant was always above a certain pitch and the pitch of visible magic also affected how much light it produced. After weeks of theorizing and experimentation, he found a way to make the higher pitches of magic visible and enchanted his goggles using the process. Then he embedded more crystals in the band that held the goggles on, some for power and some for another set of spells that measured the brightness of the magic and displayed it on the inside of the goggles for him to see.

Equipped with a method of carefully analyzing magic in its "natural" state outside of crystals, he took it for a test run in the most magical place he knew. The fact that it took him far away from Twilight and his other friends was merely more incentive for him to avoid contact with them, as he had still managed to avoid relaying the details of the fight with the Ursas to any of them and was still reluctant to do so. He may now have been on friendly terms with them again, but every time he imagined telling them the part that troubled him the most, his portrayal of their reactions became more extreme and troubling. In order to keep up the appearance of simply being too busy to talk about it, Myles now spent almost every day deep within the Everfree Forest.

Everfree had always contained magic, the unique wildlife and ecosystem had always been apparent evidence of that, at least in the absence of another explanation. Myles' previous expeditions into the forest had led him to believe this was true and now he could prove it with quantifiable measurements. It was everywhere, in every creature and plant in varying quantities. Some areas contained massive concentrations of magic and others were sparser, but it was always there. However, none of them exuded so much magic as two spots he'd found since he started taking measurements.

_"__Every last brick," _Myles heard as he tapped his note crystal, once again replaying the recording he'd made on his excursion to the first spot, _"Every stone, every portrait and every moth-eaten carpet and curtain." _A short pause passed during which Myles remembered gazing at some nearby insects. _"And… even the moths." _He took several looks with his naked eye and through the goggles, finding the same results throughout the building. _"Brimming with ambient magic… but why?"_

He had been to the castle before and since it had been home to the two most powerful alicorns known to ponykind it made sense that it was saturated with such magic, or rather it would if the Princesses still lived there. The magic was being renewed by something Myles couldn't identify, even though over time it should have decayed and dissipated since the sisters departed. It may have done so regardless, as Myles hadn't measured the current castle in Canterlot, which for all he knew was saturated with even more magic, but he suspected there was a different reason, partially because of the other location he'd found bathed in magic. Said location sat at the very back of the thorny basin next to the castle and thus far Myles had been unable to find a way through the vines covering it. The vines were so soaked in magic that he couldn't blast them away and with every attempt he became more convinced that the source of the forest's power lay within. He had returned to his home, furious with his lack of results.

Now he listened to the woods with apprehension as he prepared to consult the only knowledgeable authority for Everfree that he knew of, even though he was also certain he'd once again leave her presence with more questions than answers. As he knocked on the door of the hut built into a tree, the sound echoed eerily through the almost silent forest. The last time the forest had been this quiet had been when he fought the Ursas, but there were no creatures evident that seemed to be causing the phenomenon. He hadn't even seen a timberwolf since his second encounter with them at the edge of the woods.

"Zecora?!" he called out, again noting the unsettling echoes, "I need your help."

"Those words I thought I'd never hear,

For you these woods seem to hold no fear."

He turned around to see the zebra he'd been looking for approaching from the woods with a basket of herbs balanced on her back. He smirked and shook his head.

"Maybe not for me, but I hear it's been extra scary for some of the other things living in the area. I told Fluttershy I'd find out what was bothering everything and take care of it."

Zecora looked a little troubled.

"I caution you to not only trust your ears,

But be wary of even the smallest creature's fears.

You may not escape this task unmarred,

For you will find it both easy and hard."

"Thanks, Zecora," he rolled his eyes as she came to stand beside him, "As always you know just what to say to make me feel better and let me know exactly what to do."

"We give you the wisdom that we can,

Even if does not make you our biggest fan."

Myles chuckled a bit at this one, "Nicely put," his face straightened as he turned his mind to his business, "But you listen to the woods and the things that live in it as much as Fluttershy does, probably more so, so you can't tell me this is the first time you are hearing about this. Aside from whatever you do to see the future, I mean."

"Your deduction once again proves true,

Indeed I have some information for you.

You have glimpsed the truth, guardian of this land.

The fearful beast you seek is close at hand."

"So it does actually exist. That's…." Myles frowned in apprehension, "well I was sort of hoping it would just turn out to be some funny looking timberwolf that some of the smaller animals saw in the dark."

"The smallest of creatures call it 'Unquenchable Fire,'

While those who tunnel through the soil name it 'the Predator's Pyre.'"

"Yeahp, it's magical in some way, already had that figured out. But one of the other names Fluttershy told me make me think it's not actually all that big. I'm really not sure how much of the names and stories to believe though."

"You are right to focus on its size,

But keep in mind, power can deceive the eyes."

"So it hides with magic? Or does it make the animals see it differently?"

"There is one more name you need to hear,

The words that make these woods tremble in fear."

"I thought all the names did that?"

Zecora shook her head,

"Of this name the predators are even frightened.

For these woods echo with the footsteps of the 'Starstone Titan.'"

"Huh. Starlight and fire. Both give off light and I suppose those elements could be mistaken for one another from a distance. And if the light were bright enough it would explain why nothing got a good look at the creature. That's what you meant by power deceiving the eyes right?"

"Once again, your idea holds truth,

But to solve this mystery you must find another sleuth."

Myles sighs heavily, "Yeah, I suppose it was too much to hope I could figure this out without h- their help."

"But these titles and my meaning you don't understand,

A price must be paid to protect these wild lands."

Myles glanced nervously at her, "What price? Paid by who?"

"Fluttershy!" Myles turned as he heard a familiar voice calling out in the distance. After a moment he heard another voice call out "Fluttershy!" as well.

Myles began to gallop in the direction of the shouting ponies, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at Zecora, "Thanks for the cryptic assistance!"

"Do not forget what we said before,

You alone-"

Myles gritted his teeth as he doubled in speed, his own quick breathing drowning out the rest of the familiar rhyme. His eye's widened as he recognized the area of the swamp he was headed towards. The smell of the bog filled his nostrils as he galloped even faster towards the voices that still called out for Fluttershy as loudly as they could. He felt a pang of worry as he realized Fluttershy hadn't answered, meaning that perhaps she couldn't because something had happened to her. His jaw clenched harder as he mentally berated himself for letting Fluttershy go to the swamp at all, not to mention alone. He pushed the matter from his mind, focusing on the ponies moving closer to the bog and shouting out Fluttershy's name.

After a few minutes, he burst out of the tree line and ran around the edge of the swamp, spotting three ponies and a dragon walking along a shallow path through the swamp's middle. He quickly made his way to the beginning of the path and trotted up to them as quietly as he could.

"Flutter-MPH!" Pinkie's call was cut off as Myles grabbed her and wrapped one of his forelegs around her face, blocking her mouth.

"Quiet!" he hissed anxiously in her ear.

"Myles!? What're-"

"How is it that every time somepony enters this forest I have to remind them to _be quiet!" _He cut Applejack off with another whisper through his teeth, raising his voice just enough for her, Twilight and Spike to hear.

"Fluttershy! You're okay!" they heard Spike exclaim as he flung himself at the Pegasus and wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug.

"Of course," she replied in surprise.

"Hoo," Applejack sighed, "What a relief."

"I'm so glad everything's alright!" Pinkie said with her trademark glee and perhaps a bit too much volume.

"Shh!" Myles glared at her and raised a hoof to his lips, about to continue when he was cut off by Twilight.

"Sorry, I know it's not nice to gloat but… AH HA!" She said triumphantly, causing Spike to lose his hold on Fluttershy and tumble into the water with a splash.

"Quiet!" Myles pleaded as he heard another tiny splash from somewhere nearby.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about and _I _was right! Pinkie Pie said whatever she was shuddering about was-" she coughed as some thick fog rolled in, accompanied by constant splashing, but Twilight kept speaking through her coughs, "-a doosy, and the only ahuh doosy here is how ahuh right I am!"

Myles' eyes widened as he saw something rise from the swamp behind her, muck and bogwater rolling off of the massive shape. He gritted his teeth as he saw similar shapes join it.

"Pinkie's made a lot of predictions today but- ka- ahuh ugh… what is that smell?" She continued regardless, oblivious to the creature behind her, "But what we've shown here is that there is no point in believing- Khuh ahuh- anything you can't see for yourself. HEY!"

Twilight shouted in surprise as Myles scooped her up and onto his back before galloping at top speed in the other direction. "What do you think you are doing?" Myles resisted the urge to laugh at the familiar question as he galloped onwards.

"My job," he said with a shaky laugh, "But don't worry about that, so long as you don't see what's behind you, you don't have to believe anything's wrong." He heard her gasp as she turned to look.

"I see it," she said with sudden fear in her voice, "but I still don't believe it!"

"Is that a hydra?!" They heard Pinkie call. Myles glanced around to see that she hadn't moved.

"Pinkie! RUN!" he shouted past Applejack as she ran by carrying Spike on her back. Pinkie stood rooted to the spot, gazing up at the monster. He leaned to the side, letting Twilight slip onto her hooves and pelted towards the pink pony faster than he thought he could move. The hydra reared one of its heads up for a strike. Myles closed the remaining distance and bit down on Pinkie's curly tail, yanking her harshly out of the way just before the hydra's jaws closed around the spot where she had been standing. Pinkie flailed her legs and floated past Myles, who ran back towards the others with the hydra right behind him.

"GO! GO! JUST GO!" He shouted harshly as he saw the others standing and waiting for him to catch up. The ground shook and waves of water lapped against the shore as the massive creature stepped out of the water and gave chase.

"SERIOUSLY?! THIS TIME YOU WANT TO FIGHT?!" Myles cried out incredulously between breaths as he and the others narrowly dodged each head that swooped down to try and snatch them up. Twilight came to a halt at the head of a ravine and glanced around wildly for an escape route.

"Everypony up that hill!" she shouted and began running in the direction she'd indicated.

"HEEEEEEEELLLLL-WOAH!" Spike screamed as he resurfaced from the spot where he had been stuck in the bog, now on top of Myles' head.

"Hang on!" He shouted and felt spike wrap his claws around his horn as a pair of massive jaws closed around the spot where they'd been moments before.

Hearing a roar of frustration, Myles glanced back to see the hydra had gotten stuck in the same spot spike had. Twilight saw this as well.

"I think we're gonna make it!" she called out hopefully. Spike pointed forwards from atop Myles' head.

"But Pinkie's still shuddering!" The two unicorns whirled around to see that Pinkie was indeed still shaking when she suddenly stopped.

"Oh looky there! It stopped!" she laughed in surprise, but then immediately began to shake again, "ohhhhhhhhh, th-therrrrrre it issssss agaiiiiin!" she corrected as Myles and Spike pushed her up the hill.

He rapidly approached the others, who stood on the edge of the cliff over a gorge spanned only by a few skinny spires of rock.

"It'll be up here in no time! Quick, one at a time, cross!" Twilight motioned towards the spires as Myles noted they were topped by small flat plateaus. He ducked his head forwards and skidded to a stop, flinging Spike forwards off his head, then quickly spinning and kicking out with his back hooves, bucking Spike across the gorge in one go.

"NO TIME! ALL OF YOU CROSS NOW!" he shouted as the others began to comply, leaping from spire to spire and crossing the gorge. Twilight stopped halfway across.

"Myles! Come on!"

"Something has it riled up! If I don't take care of it it'll probably keep chasing us!"

"MYLES!"

"JUST GO!" he shouted as he turned to the approaching snake-like shape. He frowned and desperately tried to come up with a plan, secretly wishing the Ursa Major was still awake to take this monster on. He grinned as he remembered the last time he came to the swamp and how he had escaped another, smaller bear. Myles galloped downhill full-tilt, almost blurring as he picked up ridiculous momentum while headed straight for the creature.

"MYLES, NO!"

Myles shook his head as some mud splashed him in the face, watching the creature charge towards him at a snail's pace as he saw every rapidly approaching scale with excited clarity. He quickly examined the heads and chose one that looked like it had already hit its head on something during the chase. All four heads closed in and attempted to clamp down on him with their jaws. All four heads bit into swamp water, mud and air. One unfortunate head went cross-eyed as two hooves connected with its temple with the force of a boulder rolling down a mountain. The momentum carried that head over the neck of one of the others and the entire beast leaned towards the right as it reeled from the blow. Myles landed under its raised foot and resumed running downhill, narrowly missing being crushed by the foot or the jaws of the other two heads that followed him underneath the monster and snapped at him. Off-balance from being struck and now with two necks in the way of its legs, the creature stumbled and fell onto the hill.

Myles panted heavily as his leg muscles screamed at him to stop. He urged himself onwards, tripping a few times as he galloped back up the hill and narrowly missed being eaten again by the recovering hydra. He ran all the way to the edge of the cliff when he heard the others scream. Glancing around, he saw a head descending upon him and leapt into the air, landing on top of its scaly neck as the head struck the cliff and knocked over the spires bridging the gap.

"Myles! What are you doing!?" he heard Twilight scream as he ran along the hydra's neck, grinning widely as one of the other head bit down on the spot where he had been. He leapt off and landed on a third neck, striking it with enough force to get its attention. He leapt once again as the third head joined the fight with the already bickering first pair. His smile disappeared as he landed.

Right in the lower jaw of the final hydra head. Before he could move again, darkness enveloped him as he heard a deafening snap.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Twilight screamed in terror as she watched the two-toned unicorn disappear into the mouth of the monster that had been chasing them. She and the others stood absolutely still with shock until Pinkie shuddered again.

"There's still a dooooooooooosy commmmiing!" she said shakily as she shook up and down involuntarily.

"How the hay is there still a doosy?!" Applejack cried, "Myles just got himself ate!"

"No!" Twilight shouted with panicked breaths, "He can't be-! He didn't-!"

Their heads snapped towards the creature as it gave a partially triumphant roar. For most creatures, giving a partially triumphant roar isn't a possibility, but then most creatures only have one mouth with which to roar. The hydra made the most of its unique opportunity by roaring triumphantly with three heads for a few moments, before all three stopped when they heard the fourth head gag and cough. It groaned in apparent discomfort and its jaws cracked open, a dull blue and gray light shining from between its teeth. It howled in pain as its maw was forced open.

"MYLES!" Twilight shouted again, this time in relief as she watched the pony in question standing atop the hydra's tongue. A beam of magic bursting forth from his horn and pushing against the roof of the hydras mouth, with his hooves set firmly on its tongue and the force of the magic pushing him down onto the tongue, the hydra coughed and gagged again as its mouth was held open.

Myles gritted his teeth as he felt the beam weaken and sent another surge of magic along it. He had reinforced the beam by following its tempo, much like he had when he was using the crystal battery on the Ursa. Now, however, he was forcing the rhythm to move faster, the new pulses of magic pressing on the back of the initial burst. The force exerted was small, but each pulse added to its strength, like a crowd of people pressing in the same direction. He'd be laughing at his own brilliance if not for the major drawback that came with it.

Although incredibly strong and certainly serving its intended purpose, the effect that Myles was replicating was the same effect that caused his crystals to destabilize and rupture violently with an explosion of magic. And now he was creating this effect without a crystal power source, the waves originating and pressing back against the only magical conductor in line with the energy being generated.

His horn.

Myles screamed in pain as he felt his horn vibrate and shake, the pulses rattling his skull as they rebounded and pressed back on him. He tensed his legs, causing further pain as the beam pushed down on his no longer steadied stance. He felt his teeth rattle against each other as he prepared to make his move. He yelled again as he shifted his weight.

No longer pressed against the hydra's tongue, his horn dipped and redirected the energy towards the back of its mouth, forcing him backwards out of its jaws and propelling him towards the other heads, who eagerly snapped at him. He extended his hooves and connected with two of the heads as he allowed the magic to burn away and stopped forcing himself backwards. He gritted his teeth as the two heads pressed inwards and gasped as the third head violently rammed into the other two in its attempt to eat the pony.

Wind whistled past Myles' ears as he arced through the air, thrown clear as the three heads collided and flung forcefully away from them. He felt himself impact the ground and managed to tuck his legs in and roll to disperse the momentum. He growled in frustration and rose to his hooves, rushing to the edge of the cliff and shouting across the gorge.

"COME ON!" he bellowed as the girls dragged him back from the edge. The remaining spires gave way and tumbled hundreds of feet into the swamp below. "YOU READY FOR ROUND TWO!? CAUSE I AM! JUST TRY THAT AGAIN!"

"MYLES!" Twilight shouted and wrapped her hooves around his neck, pulling him into a hug and pressing her head onto his shoulder. Myles blinked and finally realized he was on the other side of the gorge. More pressing in his mind however, was the noise that had caught his attention, that of Twilight sobbing into his shoulder. He wrapped his hooves around her and returned the hug, glancing across the gorge.

They hydra was in poor shape, the forth head hung limp, having been knocked unconscious by the force of the blast. The three heads snapped at each other, attempting to get a hold on the pony before finally spotting him on the other side of the gorge. All three of the heads howled in frustration and began to snap at each other again, causing the creature to shift backwards and lose its balance. The howls and roars faded away as the beast tumbled over itself down the hill.

Myles look back down at Twilight, placing a hoof on the back of her head. She sniffed and then ran her leg over her face, wiping the tears away before looking back up at him. She pushed him away and raised a hoof to strike him but stopped suddenly.

Myles had taken a few shaky steps back and then seen Twilight prepare to hit him. He had braced himself for the blow but his eyes blinked open when it never came. Twilight was staring at him in shock.

"What?"

"Your nose…" she murmured.

He lifted a hoof to his face and wiped his snout. Looking down, he saw his hoof smeared with blood. He gingerly prodded his snout with the hoof. "Huh…. It's not broken." He wiped his face again, coming away with a fresh coating of blood. "But it's still bleeding… weird… woah!" he exclaimed as his legs shook and he fell back onto his haunches, then his front legs shook even more and he fell flat on the ground. Twilight and the others rushed to his side as he lay there, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Twilight asked with renewed concern.

"Yeah," he panted, "Yeah I'm good. Or I will be. That…. That took a lot out of me is all…"

"C'mon, sugarcube," Applejack said as she scooped him onto her back, "Let's get ya home."

"I dunno how it happened, coincidence, dumb luck or what. But you said there'd be a doosy here at Froggy Bottom Bog, and I'd say we just had ourselves one heck of a doosy! I mean, Myles and that hydra-!"

She stopped abruptly as Pinkie shuddered again. "Pinkie?"

"That wasn't it," Pinkie stated simply.

"What are you talkin' about, Pink?" Applejack asked in disbelief.

"The hydra and Myles fighting wasn't the doosy," she continued to shake, "I'm still getting the shudders! Hooohooohoo! You see? There it is again! Whatever the doosy was at Froggy Bottom Bog, my Pinkie sense says it still hasn't happened!"

Twilight's eyelids began to twich, "Myles nearly dying and being eaten by the hydra wasn't the doosy? How could that not be the DOOSY!? WHAT COULD BE DOOSIER THAN THAT?!" She shouted as she floated upwards and her mane appeared to burst into flames, then settled to the ground. "I give up."

Pinkie Pie kept shaking, "Huh?"

"Give what up, Twi?" Spike asked.

"The fight," she said with exhaustion, "I can't fight it anymore. I don't understand how, why or what, but Pinkie Sense somehow… makes sense. I don't see how it does but it just does! Just because I don't understand doesn't mean its not true!"

"Y-y-y-you-yo-youyou m-m-m-ma-mean you beliii-ieeve!?" Pinkie cried, shaking more intensely with each passing moment.

"Yeahp. I guess I do." Twilight admitted. Pinkie spasmed harder and her body seemed to warp and deform for a bit before she suddenly stood still. After a moment, she gasped.

"That was it! That's the doosy!"

Twilight shook her head, "What is?"

"You! Believing!" Pinkie beamed as she pointed a hoof at Twilight, "I never expected that to happen! That's the doosy! And oh what a doosy of a doosy it was! La-lala la-la-lala!" She sang happily as she bounced past an aghast Twilight Sparkle.

Applejack and Spike told Myles the rest of the story on the way back, though they had to repeat themselves on several occasions since he was laughing the rest of the way back to Ponyville.

**Whew! That turned out even better than expected! And it didn't take nearly as long because I saved the second draft of chapter 14 where I blew the entire story arc. I was able to reinsert several lines of dialogue originally in that draft and I have a couple more I'll probably still be able to use in upcoming chapters.**

**Yeah. The hydra was the swamp monster all along, just in case you hadn't already figured that out. I messed up a bit when I foreshadowed it by saying the swamp was filled with toads and completely forgetting that it had a name: Froggy Bottom Bog. In my defense, even though the name is said several times during the episode, I don't think it's been seen or mentioned since, and I obviously wasn't watching this episode back when I wrote chapter…6 I think it was. Yeah, cause that was the whole ordeal with the ursa minor…**

**As I said, I reinserted some lines from my arc ruining draft, but hopefully not enough to give it away yet. Hmmm… unless you thought the hydra was that monster with all the fancy names. Though I can't see why, since it kept trying to eat them and never shot any fire or light.**

**The thing with Myles' horn is a part of crystal magic I'd thought out already, but originally it wasn't going to come up until much, much later. Like when the Crystal Empire came into things. The nosebleed was a last minute addition, but it seemed to fit in with the idea of Myles getting hurt from overexerting himself and the resulting rebounding powerful magic, kinda like psychics do in science fiction stuff. **

**And oh man, do I wish I could say I purposefully put in Myles earlier line about being eaten whole as foreshadowing of this chapter, but I actually forgot about it until just after I wrote that part. Might be a subconscious thing. A similar call forwards was made in an anime parody I watched recently by some sort of organization with a certain number of celestial bodies involved. It wasn't the parody they were famous for either, but one for a show I'm actually sort of conflicted on. Oddly enough the parody was made over two years ago and I can't seem to find a part two yet. Ah well. They've got other stuff to do that's just as funny.**

**I hope the brief focus on Twilight wasn't too jarring. But I do try and maintain a third person narrative at all times anyways, which hopefully meant it worked when I shifted focus to somepony besides Myles for the first time. I had several ideas for his fight with the hydra and I'm fairly certain I thought of one of the heads eating him briefly before, but until I got to that section and encountered the problem of getting him across the chasm, I never seriously considered having it happen. I hope the brief suspense worked on some level. Course if I had killed Myles off now it would mean I had wasted a bunch of time on setting up that story arc for him.**

**I also briefly considered having Myles use his magic in such a way as to bring one of the hydra's most famous abilities into play, but that would've been ****_incredibly _****violent. I already sort of think I'm pushing it sometimes, but I try and keep things in check. Which isn't to say I won't keep pushing for the sake of a great story. Certainly Myles is a little afraid of what he might be capable of doing, which is why he still hasn't truly talked to anypony about the Ursa incident. Sorry if it seemed like I went back on that, but he never elaborated and as I said previously he was supposed to continue fighting with Twilight until season 2. Since I had already kept most of the conversation from happening for arc reasons, I decided to extend things a little more while I built up more story for Myles and tied up my earlier allusions to the hydra.**

**I remember saying Zecora wasn't going to appear much because of how frustrating it was to write for her. That was wishful thinking. Or it used to be, since now I'm sort of glad I didn't leave her behind. She's too perfect. She fits right in with the story arc and to be honest I'm now getting used to writing lines for her, almost to the point of enjoying it.**

**And I just realized that in my eagerness to finish this chapter I left something out. But that's fine. You were probably all tired of that anyways. Another thing I realized is that the Stare Master episode is coming up and much like the parasprite episode I'm not entirely certain how Myles will fit in. Because it involves the Everfree Forest, he has to be involved, but because it once again has one of the mane six saving the day for that episode's moral, I have to figure out how to make him powerless to stop it.**

**And he just blasted his way out of a hydra's gullet. **

**Obviously the simple solution would be to have him turned to stone for the duration of the episode, but that just seems boring to me.**

**Oh well. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Of course, for you that's right now, cause I do really want to keep things moving and I don't want to keep uploading only one chapter at a time. At least not until the opening of season 2. Hope you're still having as much or probably more fun reading than I am. It is a little stressful reading my story and having that peculiar mixed feeling that while it turned out pretty good, ****_I _****now have to make the next chapter.**

**And I think I'm finally hitting that miraculous balance between winging it and planning just enough to keep myself from hitting a wall and being able to set things up.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	16. Book 1- Ch 16

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Sonic Rainboom or Definition of Helpless

He examined the surface as carefully as he could without actually touching the crystal. Myles was puzzled, to say the least, at this latest development, but more than that he was curious as to what it meant. The how may yet still be important, but for now Myles just wanted to know why.

In the crystal cavern he sat in front of the two tuned crystals and one of them was fractured. A large split running from its top to about midway down, making the first change Myles had seen to the place since he began to be brought there. It had been that way when he arrived and its tune, while off-key, continued to hum as though no gaps stood in its way.

More alarming however was the fact that if one looked precisely at the base of the fracture for a few minutes, they would be able to see it moving. Slowly and steadily, the break was disappearing. The crystal was growing back on its own.

"Luna," he spoke quietly as he glanced around.

"Sorry," said a familiar voice, "she's a little busy at the moment."

Myles jumped as he recognized the Trottingham accent that cut off Luna's tirade last time he'd been here.

"Nevermind her," Myles frowned as he looked around for the source of the voice again, "I have some questions for you as well."

"And don't worry, you'll have the answers," the voice took on an apologetic tone, "I'm so sorry, though, because you have work to do. That conversation will have to wait for another time."

"Myles?"

He groaned and cracked an eyelid, wincing and letting his eyes adjust to the light. He blinked a few times and tried to sit up, but found himself held down by a purple hoof. Looking up, he saw Twilight Sparkle standing over the guest bed in the library, which he now occupied.

"Just rest, okay?" She said pleadingly as she kept him from sitting up, "You need it."

Myles grumbles a bit, but nods. "Okay."

"The girls and I will be downstairs reshelving the library, just give a shout if you need anything. Do NOT try and get it yourself."

"I'm not helpless," he frowns and crosses his front hooves, trying to hide the wince as his muscles twinged.

"I know, Myles," Twilight sighed, "But if you try to do everything yourself you'll only get hurt again, you need to trust us."

He rolls his eyes, "And you need to trust me. So we both have room for improvement, don't we?"

Twilight huffs and shakes her head as she descends down the staircase without another word. He sighed and lay back with a look of frustration on his face.

It had been almost a week since he had fought the hydra and passed out on Applejack's back. His friends had taken him to the hospital but despite a thorough examination the doctors were unable to identify what was wrong with him. His exhaustion, the inconsistency of his magical ability and it's apparent relationship to his lack of energy and his mysterious nosebleed all seemed to originate from nowhere. The doctors grew increasingly concerned as his condition grew even more inconsistent with that of a unicorn that has overexerted themselves magically. Though physical exhaustion was a symptom, the specifics and degree to which Myles had been worn out was all wrong. Myles was shown to have magical energy to spare when they tested his horn, but his muscles were strained as though he had run a marathon. While he had run quite a ways during his fight with the hydra, he had covered much more distance in a lot shorter time when he was chased by the manticore.

Despite his unusual condition, Myles was moved out of the hospital in less than a day, due to his history of ignoring the doctor's orders. Twilight had again agreed to look after him and it was in her house that he had awoken after several hours. Twilight had managed to convince him to stay and even allowed him to keep his detection crystal to alert them when something crossed over from the forest. His muscles ached and shook when he moved, but Twilight kept catching him trying to stand. Unbeknownst to her, he had actually managed it for a few seconds, but his weakened appearance kept her from allowing him to try under her watch regardless.

With no way of escaping into Everfree Forest, Twilight and the others had asked him several times about what he'd been through during the Running of the Leaves, but he stopped talking every time they brought it up. He remained as friendly as he could be about any other topic, even with his demeanor somewhat sullied by his frustration at being confined, but at least he held a conversation with his friends so long as they stayed away from that one topic. So the week passed with increasing tension as they took care of him and tried to ignore his stubborn refusal to tell them the one thing they wanted to know the most.

"You just have to get used to the idea."

"Oh yeah, it's that simple, just accept that I'm not good enough to do anything myself. What's the point if…" Myles shook his head in anger and the scene disappeared. Another familiar scene began to form around him. "STOP IT! JUST STOP!" He whirled around, startled by a loud noise that originated from somewhere else.

Myles awoke to a crash and rushed to the top of the stairs. He stumbled on his way there and ended up leaning against the wall at the top. His legs continued shaking as he struggled to keep himself standing. Looking down, he saw the library in disarray with Rainbow Dash lying in a heap on top of some books. She stood up and brushed herself off. "Sorry about that, ladies. Oh hey Myles, feeling better?" The others turned to follow her gaze and Twilight frowned as Myles shook and slumped over onto the wall.

"Yeah," he grunted as he pulled himself up again and stalked back to the bed, "I'm better than ever." Twilight's eyes followed him all the way to the bed and she looked sourly at him when he lay down and turned to her. "Just don't," he cut her off as she opened her mouth to scold him. She gritted her teeth and went back downstairs, not wanting to have the same argument again.

Myles listened in to hear why Rainbow Dash had crashed into the library, his excellent hearing not even necessary due to Pinkie Pie and Rainbow's excitement. He listened to them ramble on about a move Rainbow had to perform before the pegasui departed. He smiled warmly when they discussed going to cheer on Rainbow in this contest, but scowled when he realized it was taking place in Cloudsdale. His ears perked up at the mention of a flight spell.

"Okay," Twilight agreed nervously to try the spell, "But who's gonna volunteer to be the test subject?"

"I'll do it," Myles shouted down the stairs.

"You're not well, I'm not trying out magic I haven't tested on you!" Twilight shouted back angrily.

"But you said it'd let a pony fly for three days!"

"Yes," she admitted with annoyance, "By giving them _wings!_ You can barely move the limbs you have now, I'm not burdening you with more!"

"I can take i-"

"WE ARE NOT DISCUSSING THIS!"

Myles snarled and tugged the covers over his head, shutting out the rest of their conversation. After a few moments, he felt a tug at the sheets and raised them enough to see Twilight standing over him.

"We're going to go support Rainbow Dash at the Best Flyer Competition, but you'll-"

"-Have to stay. I know. Just go," Myles growled as he covered his head again. He heard her begin several sentences and stop herself before finally stomping away.

"Nothing works," he intones sadly as he sits in the pitch black.

"What do you want me to say? What suggestion do you want to hear again?"

"Something new."

"Myles?" he heard a small muffled voice and pushed away the covers to see Spike, "You hungry? I'm going for take out."

"I'm fine," he mumbled.

"You sure? Twilight gave me enough bits to-"

"I'm not hungry," he growled.

"Okay okay," Spike shrugged, "Now no running away while I'm gone."

Myles glared at the baby dragon, "I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"What? No," Spike looked confused, "Twilight told me to keep you from running away."

"I think she might've been joking," Myles growled and pulled the covers over him again.

"She sounded serious to me," Spike mumbled as he made his way down the stairs.

"I think you're scared of trying."

"More like tired," he muttered, "I've tried so much and the result is always the same. It's less that I'm scared things will go wrong… and more that I'm pretty sure they will."

Myles' eyes snapped open as he heard the familiar tone. He tapped the crystal on the end table.

His eyes widened as he saw the barrier.

"Buck. SPIKE!" He shouted. The library was silent and no noise was heard from outside.

"SPIKE!" he called again, then growled and shook as he struggled to his feet. He took slow, deliberate steps until he fell with his front hooves on the railing overlooking the library. Nothing. No Spike. No Twilight. None of the others. Looking up at the clock, he saw that barely an hour had passed. The girls wouldn't get back for a while and Spike had probably taken his rejection of food as a sign to leave him alone. Of course, Myles had meant it that way, but now he wished he hadn't.

He shook his head and stumbled over to the bed, picking up his bracer and sliding it over his foreleg while leaning on the bed. He triggered the defensive barrier to buy himself time and then frowned at himself. What could Spike have done? What could anypony in town do? The only ponies who could deal with this were up in Cloudsdale with one exception. He was still here.

Myles growled as his legs shook and he fell onto the stair's railing. He kept a hoof on the railing and made his way down slowly. He slumped against the front door and twisted the knob, forcing it open with his weight. Snarling, he slowly picked himself up off of the ground, one of his back legs giving way and forcing his hips to the ground. Myles gritted his teeth and forced himself to his hooves. He stood solidly and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

Myles took a deep breath and placed a hoof in front of himself, leaning his weight onto it and grunting with the effort of supporting himself. He huffs and pants heavily and moves another hoof. He begins to move his back hoof and slowly rebuilds a rhythm that's less walking and more falling forwards and catching himself. The effort of keeping pace is taxing enough that he doesn't even flinch when he sees a spindly long leg extend from the Everfree Forest. His ear twitches irritably when he hears two voices call his name from behind.

"Myles!

"Mr. Shardsolid!"

Myles grumbles "Shardsole," to himself but keeps his steady pace towards his house even as the owners of the voices catch up to him.

"Myles! Twilight said you weren't supposed to leave! If she finds out I let you walk back home she'll-"

"Though your dedication is admirable, Shardslade-"

"Shardsole."

"-I have been advised about your condition and must insist you continue to recover. I know you can be insistent, but even you must know there is no reason for this behavior! You are the very definition of 'helpless!'"

"So I've been asleep for bits of this afternoon," Myles spoke, still resolutely moving towards his house, "did the definition of 'helpless' change during that time? Just wondering."

"I really don't think now is the time for jokes-"

"What do you mean Myles?"

"So it hasn't, but clearly you misunderstood it. I'm walking and I can move," he grunts and takes another step, "so I can defend the town."

"From what?" Spike asks as Myles stomps forwards. The two follow him for a few moments before the Mayor's jaw falls open and she extends a hoof to stop Spike from walking forwards.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Spike can be heard shouting in shock from behind as Myles falls against his front door and forces it open. He catches himself before he hits the floor and shouts back over his shoulder before disappearing inside.

"Exactly what it looks like. Mayor, I suggest you start evacuating the town."

Mayor Mare scoops the baby dragon onto her back and quickly makes her way back to city hall to raise the alarm. She ignores the creature lifting another enormous and grotesque limb and sliding it with an earthshaking crash into the dirt in front of the woods. All Spike can do is stare until his entire body begins to shiver with terror.

Myles growls as he takes the first tenuous step onto the spiral staircase inside his home. Storing his supply of crystals upstairs seemed convenient for the purposes of using them from the tower itself, but in his current state, with every step feeling like a sprint across the woods, he berates himself for his decision. His ears twitch as he hears the bells in town, both at the school and the clocktower, begin ringing furiously, signaling an emergency evacuation. At the second floor he spares a glance out his window and grits his teeth, dragging himself upstairs even faster as a gigantic hairy appendage slides into place outside and shakes his home. He hears screaming and the crashing of doors and ponies into each other as the citizens of Ponyville spot the creature for the first time and begin to panic. He growls with the effort of pulling himself up the final few steps and onto the landing. His jaw feels stiff and sore as he grits his teeth harder while opening the trunk.

Myles shouts in pain as he attempts to lift one of the crystals with his magic and feels the same feedback he had gotten when he fought the hydra. He ignores the loud clacking sound from outside as he focuses on the nearest crystal and focuses a tiny amount of magic into it. Myles holds his teeth tight and keeps silent so he can focus on tuning the crystal through the small pinpricks of pain he felt across his forehead. The crystal hums and lifts itself out of the trunk, spinning in mid-air above it. He tunes it again and it lifts eight more crystals out of the trunk, which spin around the original in a circle even as Myles leans forwards and grips the main crystal in between his teeth.

He tunes one of the crystals now orbiting his head and it fires a beam of magic that tugs on the rope in the center of the room, dropping down the staircase to the roof. He bites down hard on the crystal and pulls himself up, his muscles screaming at him for rest. Myles lifts himself onto the wall of his tower and looks down at the newest nightmare that Everfree Forest has spawned to challenge him.

The large oblong shape in the middle is adorned across the top with a light blue star, heavily contrasting with the black, hairy shell itself. At the front is another vaguely spherical shape, less than half the size of the first and dotted with eight glowing blue eyes. On the sides of the smaller sphere begin the creature's ghastly legs, which knot at the joints and curve unnaturally to their tips that spear into the ground with every step. At the front twin mandibles clack together irritably as it shudders and takes another step.

"That," Myles hissed past the crystal in his mouth, "is one big bucking starspider." As he finishes his comment something clicks in his mind. Staring at the abdomen he realizes the chitin on its abdomen appears hard as stone and the design on its shell was unmistakable.

_"__These woods echo with the footsteps of the Starstone Titan."_

Myles glances at its features again, sizing up any weak points. Attacking the body would be useless, the thin legs appeared to him to be a safe bet, but as they were as thick as the thickest tree trunks in the Everfree Forest, even taking those out seemed like a fruitless task.

Myles squints, taking careful aim and ceasing the rotation of the crystals around his head as he tunes it. When the tune is right he bites down on the crystal in his mouth again, triggering it. The tuned crystal flies forwards, glancing off the spider's leg and attaching a tendril of magic that follows it as it is embedded deep into the ground. The creature hisses in annoyance, not actually hurt by the blow but having felt it and subsequently taking more offense when it tried to tug its leg forwards and found itself unable to detach the tether.

The edge of Myles' mouth turns up in a smile as he carefully tunes another crystal and prepares to fire again. He stumbles as the spider leans away from his tether and presses off the ground with all its legs, finally tugging the crystal out of the ground and sending the spider reeling into the side of his tower. Myles shakes and tries to steady his hooves underneath him, but the spider falls to the ground after the blow against his house. The next shake catches the unicorn off balance and he tumbles forwards over the edge of the tower. He sees the spider stir right before everything goes dark.

Myles shakes his head and tries to ignore the ache from every part of his body as he examines the spot where he landed. He had thought the fall had rendered him unconscious, but the throbbing pain indicated otherwise. His eyes widened as he looked around and realized the darkness that surrounded him was the massive hairs on the abdomen of the starspider. He tumbled forwards against one of the stalks of hair, each as thick around as his own legs, as the he felt the beast move. He frantically looked over the hairs to see the ground ahead moving again as the spider lifted its legs to keep advancing on the town.

Myles felt a rumble as the creature beneath him shook and a clacking sound issued from ahead. He turned his head to look at the glowing star shape on its back and saw it pulsing with energy. He was about to turn back to its head when a small line on the star caught his eye. As he watched, the line grew longer and splintered into multiple other lines. Myles realized the shell was cracking on its own as the creature under him shuddered again. Whatever had engorged the starspider was also causing it immense pain. Hearing the sound of shattering wood, he turns to see the spider push its forward leg through a house and sweep it to the side, leveling the domicile and leaving a trail of debris. The creature shuddered and lifted a leg, preparing to spear it through the next house over.

"Surry, big guy," Myles speaks past the crystal as the orbiting crystals stop and he tunes the one on top, "but y'd just wreak havc if I turned ya back towards da woods." The topmost crystal spins and emits a high pitched whine as he charges it and sends it into the crack on the spider's abdomen with as much force as he can manage. The creature shudders harder than before and pitches forwards as it reacts to the pain and magical energy pours out of the split in its back, blasting the pony back even more. Myles tumbles across its back and over its eyes, rolling off its head and landing roughly in the dirt just in front of it. He feels one of the teeth he's using to hold the crystal crack and he drops it from the combined pain of his exhaustion and his fresh layer of bruises. He shakes his head, trying to clear his wavering vision and focus. He recovers just in time to roll away from the mandibles that spear into the ground where he was. The dirt rolls forth as the spider angrily tries to lift its mandibles free and Myles rolls backwards to avoid its impending attack.

"How's that for 'helpless?'" he laughs weakly as he rolls to his hooves. His eyes widen as he sees the spider prepare to follow up its strike. He dodges the second strike but barely has time to gasp as one of the spider's legs sweeps forward and slams into him. He feels rushing air for a few brief seconds and then cries out in pain as he feels himself slam into and break a wooden wall. Pictures and furniture tumble past as he briefly glimpses the interior of the home before slamming into and breaking through the next wall. His back is reeling from so much pain that he barely feels the impacts of the next four walls and the burn of the ground against him as he skids to a stop. His vision swims and he lifts his head just enough to see a massive black shape pushing its way after him before he slumps to the floor and the dark embrace of unconsciousness closes around him.

Myles wakes up to a familiar sound as he hears two tones humming in harmony. His body still aches but doesn't feel nearly as painful as it did moments before. He opens his eyes and groans as he looks at two crystals with cracks running down them. They shimmer with light and their tone wavers with instability. He gasps for breath as he looks around and sees the cave, slumping forwards and groaning. The sound of his own heartbeat echoes in his ears, nearly drowning out the cacophony that normally surrounds him in the crystal chamber. His eyelids droop and he feels darkness surrounding him again.

"What? I'm passing out twice? This seems unnecessary." He grumbles as he takes what might be his final look at the room that had puzzled him and two princesses so much. The throbbing in his ears slows and his vision swims again.

"Another time."

Myles can't tell if the voice actually issues forth from the chamber itself or just echoes in his mind as he begins to lose his grip on what is really happening, but he frowns at the words as they echo into silence. The world continues to fade around him and his eyes slide shut. The entire chamber falls into silence as the unicorn lies still on the floor.

"Myles!" the young dragon calls out as he sees the unicorn tossed into a house, "but… but…" he stutters as the seconds extend and only the crumbling and cracking of the rubble can be heard, "But Myles represents the Element of Perseverance! He doesn't just… he can't just… he'll get up again… he always does…" Spike trails off as the Mayor pats him gently on the head.

"He fought with all he could, but I think he's given this world the last of him now…"

Spike's eyes water and he begins to turn away before a loud crash draws his gaze.

The pony seems to be entirely bereft of life for a few moments that seem like centuries to those who observed them. The corner of the pony's mouth suddenly twitches and the twin crystals begin to hum again. The entire chamber resounds with an intense humming as every crystal begins to resonate as well. A beam of light pours forth and sweeps across every crystal in the chamber save for the two that were harmonized and a larger crystal just behind them. Just as the light disappears, the other crystals return to their various tones and multiple voices spill out from the light's origin before both the light and voices disappear entirely. The voices say a multitude of different things that overlap and drown each other out, making them incomprehensible to the pony whose ears twitch as he registers the sounds.

Myles' eyes snap open and narrow as a look of fury unfolds across his face.

"I'll hold you to that," he growls as the world around him fills with light and fades.

Spike wipes away the beginnings of tears and gazes in awe as the building the starspider was about to crush explodes and sends the spider stumbling backwards, tripping over its many legs. As the dust cloud clears the varied observers make sounds of shock at what becomes visible.

"Time and time again, you amaze me Mr. Shradsoul."

"Shardsole," Spike corrects her automatically, still staring at the spectacle before them.

In the center of a shell of outward bent wood fragments that used to be a house stands a pony. More specifically a unicorn with two tones of a gray-blue for his coat and a navy blue mane that flows upwards briefly as though trying to lift away from his body. His hair settles and the brightly glowing cutie mark of the crossed crystal swords fades to its normal dull color as Myles Shardsole opens his eyes. His retinas glimmer with bright blue light which serves to make his pupils seem like dark holes in the fabric of reality until the light evens out a few seconds later.

The starspider rears its front four legs into the air and prepares to smash them into the soil where Myles stands. The crystals he dropped earlier glow and emit a screeching high pitch as four of them embed themselves into the joints of the spider's raised legs and the remaining three shoot through its body. The creature hisses and whines in pain and attempts to bring its legs down. Before the legs can impact the creature is thrown onto its back as the crystals embedded in its belly rupture and explode, blasting the creature off the ground. The spider hisses violently and rolls onto its legs again before the crystals in his legs rupture and blast away pieces of his exoskeleton under his knees. Its legs buckle as it shudders under its own weight and its mandibles dig once more into the dirt.

Myles smirks triumphantly until the spider's eyes glow and he hears a familiar hum. The unicorn rolls to the side just as beams of magical energy lance forth from the eyes and join into a larger ray that strikes where he had been standing. The ground that was struck emits smoke and the grass there burns away. At the same time, sparks and lightning arc from the point of impact and begin a few more fires.

_"__Vengeful Light, Rage of the Sun and Inevitable Storm."_

The realization that the creature matched most of the names of the thing striking fear into Everfree Forest was overwhelmed by a more immediate connection made in his memory. The sound emitted from the creature's eyes rings in his ears again as Myles dodges another blast. Glancing up at the spiders back, he sees the rupture growing and listens intently. He dashes past its legs as it rips its mandibles from the ground, tearing one off. From the stump of its deadly pincer a bright light shines as the abandoned limb burns away into ash. The eyes glow even brighter and a rushing bassy thrum precedes the bright orange beam that fires forth from the combined contribution of its eyes. The thicker beam hits the spot just behind Myles, lifting the spider into the air and flinging the unicorn forwards where he rolls roughly to a stop on the other side of the oversized arachnid. The last clue slid into place in Myles' mind.

_"__The Mouse that Roars at Lions"_

Starspiders were generally bigger than normal spiders, some getting as large as a mouse. Though this one had certainly gone through a growth spurt or ten.

"That's a roar then? But not like any I've heard any animal make," Myles grinned as he closed his eyes and his ears twitched, "but I have heard that sound before." Myles' ears twitch faster as the creature rounds on him and prepares another blast, the sound enhancing the pitch of the one the pony had been listening for and making him smile. "There!" he shouts as his horn glows dimly and the monstrous creature freezes in front of him. "Nice star design, turns out it isn't technically stone after all. See only one thing is as hard as stone, emits light and makes that sound that only me and a few other ponies can hear. Does that remarkable material run through your entire body?" He frowns and his horn glows. The spider spasms and twitches in front of him. "No wonder you soaked up all that magic, you're practically half crystal."

He grits his teeth and his horn glows with a bright blueish light. The creature before him shakes and the trees bend as a massive object is hurled across the canopy fast enough to become a blur. In the distance birds take flight and a resounding crack is heard as the spider slams against a cliff side and bounces harshly off the sides of Ghastly Gorge, snapped at by several Coray Eels on its way to the bottom of the ravine. Myles hears a resounding boom afterwards that also sounded vaguely familiar, but shrugged it off as a mistake as he entirely failed to turn around and witness a peculiar rainbow colored shockwave occurring a few hundred feet below Cloudsdale.

Myles' eyelids feel heavy again, but he feels stable enough to walk and makes his way to the library where he leans through the door, steps wearily up the stairs and then falls asleep before he hits the guest bed.

He frowns and stares at the crystal behind the first two, which now appear as solid as ever. The crystal that has his attention provides a bassy thrum that perfectly accompanies the two crystals he tuned.

"Luna?" he calls out tentatively.

"Shardsole," the alicorn speaks up as she appears behind him, "We… I am glad you have decided to speak with me despite my previous actions. I have much I need to discuss with you."

"Your highness," Myles says as he turns around and grins, "You have no idea."

**As I type this it is two hours since I wanted to go sleep and I don't care. I'm just glad the ending turned out like it did and thank God for the inspiration I got while typing this, not to mention the previous inspiration for the whole thing, including the arc that's being realized.**

**And the second time I'm typing this I've had to change some of that ending, making it even better and tying some other things into it.**

**As you read this, I'll probably have re-written several sections a few times and lengthened them to properly portray Myles' uphill struggle against his own weakness in this chapter. (NOTE: Didn't rewrite that at all, you get the idea of how hard it was and any addition would just make it longer for no reason) It may be a bit cliché, but watching the hero fall to the breaking point and find one simple thought that turns everything in his favor is always a favorite moment in any work of fiction for me. I hope that came across well here and don't expect it to be the last time, given Myles' representative element. And while it may seem to be a bit of a deus ex machine ending, its actually an event that had become a very important step in the overarching story that will be better explained later. Hopefully some of that will happen next chapter, but for the rest of the answers, you'll have to wait for another time.**

**Of course, in my mind I imagine many of you have seen and read the works I've read and have figured out exactly what's going on. To those I simply ask you not spoil it for the rest of them. I don't know how many of you there are, but I hope you can be patient enough to let me roll this out in the order I come up with.**

**I like that I got a Ghastly Gorge reference in there. It's one of the more interesting locations that only appear for one episode and contains one of the more terrifying creatures that exist in Equestria, in my opinion anyways. The Coray Eels are enourmous compared to their real world counterparts and their existence out of water makes them especially surreal. They have the same alien look that many deep sea predators do but they're just dug into a canyon. This means either they live in their holes for their whole lives or have some way of moving other than that. And since none of the ones in the episode flew after the various contestants, it's safe to say they get all their food in the exact way we see them try, by snapping at whatever passes by. Judging by the number of them, they are ****_thriving_**** as well. And they live just South of two major population centers and a forest full of magically altered monsters. Either pegasui regularly go into Ghastly Gorge and don't come back or there's something in Everfree that would overwhelm the forest and Ponyville if the Corays didn't keep their numbers in check. Hmm. I wonder if they eat parasprites. They'd have to eat them by the thousands to sustain their massive bodies but if any creature had the rare ability to sustain a population with that high a mortality rate I think the parasprites would be among the few.**

**I actually looked at the My Little Pony wiki for this one to select a monster for Myles to fight that hadn't been used yet or wasn't unavailable for some other reason (like being stuck in a cliff for its entire life). Almost gave up on it before the Starspider caught my eye. As a former arachnophobe I know how to make it a little creepy without full on turning current archnophobes away from the story, hopefully. Not to mention the name and design gave an added bonus and lessened modifications that had to be made so it could match up with the tales of terror from the animals that live in the woods.**

**So what'd you think of the "Starstone Titan?" He didn't get to do much this chapter but rest assured, he'll be back. I certainly didn't spend all that time building up to his appearance to have him set aside so easily.**

**I also realize that up to this point I've failed to mention Myles' cutie mark. This was an accident I kept forgetting to rectify. I believe it resulted when I edited and rewrote my description of Myles in the first chapter and forgot to re-add the description of his cutie mark. Now that there's a reminder in the story I'll probably soon edit the first chapter to include this when I reread this. ****_Get it done, future me!_**** Hope that doesn't bother any of you. I didn't mean to give you the idea that he's been running around with a blank flank this entire time. I think I was also going to make sure it was visible in the new cover for this story, but that's another thing I haven't gotten around to, since the first didn't turn out well because I had never tried to draw a pony before. Caught me off guard. I'm not a professional but I do have some artistic talent and my improvment shows if I go back and look at my sketches over the years. But those were mostly of human or humanoid figures. I need more practice before I can re-do the cover properly.**

**And yeah, I dodged around the episode again, even though there was a certain small detail during the Best Flyers Competition I considered taking advantage of. Still might, but if it does it'll come up later. And c'mon, did you really want to read the episode as is with Myles making snarky comments from the side added in?**

**I hope not, 'cause I sure as heck didn't feel like writing that.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	17. Book 1- Ch 17

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Stare Master or Calm Before the Inevitable

Ponies poked their heads out of windows and doors and passersby stopped and stared at the library, curious at the shouting that could be heard from within. Many of their curiosities were sated as the front door was flung open and the shouting became clearly audible over the sound of fleeing hooves as the crowded street came to resemble a ghost town.

"-really like to see either of you try and stop me! I feel fine and I've got a job to do!" Myles shouted without turning to the other unicorns following closely behind, both of which immediately began to launch into retorts.

"Myles! You couldn't even walk before and then you almost died for the… I've lost count actually of how many times you've done this to yourself!" Twilight berated him harshly as she followed just behind and trying to make herself heard over the doctor that had examined Myles.

"Mr. Shroudsale," He began, pausing briefly to allow him to grumpily call back the expected "Shardsole" before continuing. "Your condition last week was unlike anything I or any of my colleagues in the fields of medical study had ever seen in this degree! If we could just run some tests-"

"You ran your tests already and you said I was fine."

"I said as far as we know you are fine," the doctor groaned in exasperation, "You condition may just have become dormant and you might be hit by an even more dangerous relapse!"

"Alright, so when that happens you can run all the tests you want, but NOW, when your machines and chemical tests are registering absolutely nothing, you can LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Myles slams the door to his house, having finally arrived back home and entering just before the other two could. He nods silently to the hard hat wearing earth pony as he walks upstairs to his kitchen, where he greets another as he calls down to the first through the new elevator shaft being built into the center of his tower. Myles had been all for keeping fit by utilizing the spiral stairs to get to the top floor of his home, but after the recent incident he'd realized that even if he wasn't weakened by a mysterious ailment, hauling a good supply of crystals up and down stairs would be difficult. He'd stored them up there so they could be utilized from the advantageous position, but so far the creatures of Everfree hadn't given him opportunity to use the location as intended. Even so, Myles had drawn up sketches of a crystal powered elevator the next day. The contractors had talked him down from a completely crystal system and offered to install a clockwork operated elevator that he could install crystal powered winches for once they'd finished. He had agreed on the basis that he could remove the entire system himself if he wasn't satisfied with it. He certainly wasn't strapped for magical ability at the moment. Though he was still reluctant to use magic, albeit for a fresh set of reasons.

Apparently, his lifelong magical disability had disappeared along with his symptoms of exhaustion and lack of balance. He had picked up a few bruises from the fight with the starspider, but aside from those he felt like a brand new pony. The doctor had even examined his teeth and found that none of them were damaged at all. Though he recommended seeing a specialist about a cavity or two, he could find no trace of the fracture Myles remembered feeling as he landed with the crystal in his mouth. It was as though his injuries from before the fight with the spider had simply vanished. Twilight and his doctor saw this as cause for concern, but Myles himself wasn't too worried about his seemingly miraculous recovery. He believed he'd discovered the truth behind it shortly after the fight ended, but he wasn't keen to share it with Twilight or medical professionals as it wasn't the most scientific of theories and couldn't be proven. He doubted even Luna would have believed him had she not been able to witness most of his "proof" herself.

"Indeed, Shardsole," Luna spoke, still somehow sounding regal despite keeping her tone as friendly as was possible for her, "I've no doubt you have found out a great many things about this place since our… disagreement." Myles chuckled and she frowned a bit, "Alright, I took things too far, I know. But-"

"Its fine, your highness," Myles shook his head, "I'd really rather not talk about … what you saw… I just found your choice of words a little underwhelming."

Luna smiled, "Perhaps it was, but then I do not recall my actions as clearly as you do and even if I did they probably would not have affected me as much as they did you."

"So you're definitely… free of whatever was controlling you?" Myles asked with suspicion.

"Indeed I am. Our mysterious intruder was kind enough to completely free me in addition to explaining some of the situation to me. Unfortunately, I cannot tell all of the information to you, as our benefactor simply stated that you would learn this information yourself at-"

"-Another time?" Luna nodded as Myles frowned, "Getting tired of hearing that phrase. Though I feel a little better, since now I'm taking it as-"

"-A promise to be kept," Luna smiled broadly, "Evidently he heard you and agreed that at some point you would have your explanation, but reassured me that now was not the time, for the safety of you and many other ponies, you must remain ignorant of some things."

"And then he left his name and address so we could contact him?" Myles sighed as Luna raised an eyebrow at him, "No, that would have been too much to hope for I suppose."

"Quite. The upside of all this is that he confirms the malevolent presence that clouded my judgement is now unable to do so."

"And here?" Myles asked, finally turning to Luna and looking her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry?"

"The malevolent presence, is it banished from here?"

"Hmmm… he didn't say. I apologize, in my concern at the immediate situation I neglected to ask. I suppose this is crucial, since you ask and our benefactor told me that you would have worked out some other important facts when we next talked."

"Yeah," Myles shook his head, "And I'd love to get Twilight's help on this, maybe even ask those doctors about it, but I don't think they'd believe me without seeing it for themselves."

"Believe what? What have you discovered about this place?"

"I still don't even know where this is," Myles grumbled in frustration, "but I'm fairly confident now that this place, or more accurately, these crystals," he says as he gestures towards the three crystals behind him that hummed in harmony, "Are connected to me."

Luna blinks in shock, "Connected? In what way?"

"Last week I was … I wasn't feeling well. I fought a monster and came out on top, as usual, but it left me weak and barely able to stand and gave me a headache every time I tried to use magic. Then while the others were away the town was attacked again and I tried to do my job."

"Despite not being able to stand?" Luna gasped.

"I could move, after a fashion," he grumbled stubbornly, "anyways, that fight didn't go nearly as smooth as others had and I kind of got thrown through a house… again."

"Again?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "and actually I think I went through more houses this time. Regardless, I blacked out after that and woke up here. While I was weak I had come here one time already and I noticed these crystals," he indicated the first two, "were cracked down the middle, but were slowly repairing themselves. I had been recovering, but at the time I didn't make the connection."

"Then these crystals are in some way connected to your life itself?"

"Perhaps," he scratched his chin with a hoof, "but I believe the second visit was more important, even though I was barely awake for most of it. Like I said, after taking that hit and blacking out, I woke up here, still feeling weak and ready to pass out again. I was having trouble hearing and couldn't see well, but it felt like these crystals stopped emitting sound altogether as I felt weaker. I finally lost consciousness again… somehow… but a few seconds later I woke up."

"What woke you?"

Myles laughs, "I'm not sure, but I think I did. Right before I passed out I heard the words 'another time' again and I thought about how I'd never get my answers if I… if I gave up." He shook his head, "I remember being frustrated about this, but when I woke up I was absolutely livid. The idea that I'd never know…" he shrugs, "well, you saw what I was willing to do to figure this place out."

"We both acted rashly, Myles," Luna spoke apologetically, "but that is past now, you awoke here?"

"Yeah," he looked curious as he indicated the chamber around him, "and this time there were strange noises and a bright light that I … well I was too angry to pay any attention to," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You were hardly in a situation to be observant of absolutely everything, what of the crystals?"

"After the light, the crystals were all just like normal, but the two crystals were completely intact and this one was harmonized with them both. I felt a lot better as well, I still ached but the muscle pain was gone and I could walk just fine again. This room faded and I woke up in Ponyville. I tried to use magic to see if it still caused me pain." Myles looked a little disbelieving as he continues, "I've had trouble using magic my whole life, often times my magic fails in the middle of casting and I've never been able to use a lot of magical power at once. It… it seems obvious now, but until I woke up I didn't realize that I had always had to try harder to perform the same spells most unicorns can work without even thinking. When I tried my magic… I used the same amount of energy I normally used to try and levitate something on a piece of debris and I…" Myles shakes his head and blinks, "Well let's just say that the creature didn't do all the damage to Ponyville itself."

"What happened? How great was the difference in power?"

Myles swallowed nervously, "Like I said, I got punched through a house, I didn't really see how much damage there was while I was passing out, but I am fairly certain that all four walls were standing mostly intact before I… experimented with my power. That house is more or less a pile of splinters at this point."

"Remarkable!" Luna's eyes widened in amazement as she gazed at the larger crystal, "So your magical ability was increased greatly after you realized this crystal was harmonized with the first two. That would make the harmonized crystals somehow linked to your ability to use magic."

Myles nodded, "And the size of the crystal and its tone appears to be significant. Of course, the first thing that occurred to me was that harmonizing more crystals would let me use more powerful magic. But honestly I was probably lucky the first time. They may not all link to my magic. I can't guarantee I won't be messing with something important. And even if I could," Myles shuddered and hunched over, "I'm not sure I'd want to try."

"What troubles you? Certainly it would make you job easier… unless…"

"Unless it was too much," Myles stared straight ahead, "I leveled a house with a simple levitation spell. If I unlocked these crystals… I don't even know if I could contain all that power, let alone safely wield it."

"You aren't technically containing all that power at all times. But the amount of magic you can conduct safely is limited, so your concerns are valid."

"I haven't even cast a spell since I used my magic to take care of the creature. I even overdid that. I had intended to pitch the creature into the Everfree Forest and away from the town, but despite using the creature's natural magical resonance to do so instead of my own power, I overshot and cast it into Ghastly Gorge." He laughs nervously, "I used to have trouble levitating tiny crystals, now I'm overshooting entire forests. I don't dare use magic again, since I have no idea if it'll work right or just… blow things up."

"Fortunately, that is one matter with which I can help you."

"You can?" Myles' eyes widened with hope as Luna nodded.

"Absolutely," the alicorn smiled as she placed a hoof on his shoulder, "I can even tell you what caused the spell misfires you experienced in the fight. You pulled too hard."

"I…I'm sorry?"

"When you use magic, you pull it from the place where it normally resides to use its power directly on our world. It exists in ours, but is normally hidden beneath the surface unless it gathers in great quantities. You make a conscious effort to pull the right amount of magic to do the task you are attempting forth when you cast a spell. As you said, your restricted magical ability meant you had to exert more energy to do the same task others could normally do. Yet you often utilized your magic to the point of overexertion, meaning you gained more strength to make magic work for you. When this crystal's restriction on you was released, you were no longer hindered in your ability to bend magic to your will. As such, you reflexively attempted magic using the same amount you were used to, only to find it greatly outweighed by the amount that came through. You pulled with the same strength as always, but unlike during all your previous attempts, nothing pulled against you and you wound up with a vast surplus. Unaware of this change, you channeled the magic into the simple spell regardless. The spell was likely cast faster than ever as the power flowed towards its purpose, but having fulfilled its purpose it gave nowhere for the excess to escape to and the rest of the magic overflowed into the surrounding area with no guidance for all that energy. Since the difference between the amount of magic summoned and the amount needed was so great, all that energy flowed into our reality rapidly as would air forced out of a pressurized tank. This resulted is the explosion that destroyed your surroundings."

"Why didn't it hurt me? And why didn't it warp things like Everfree Forest does?"

"You were the point of entry, the energy had already passed through you and could not flow back to its point of origin. Effects like those in the Everfree Forest only result when magic slowly bleeds through over time. In order to recreate such a random effect yourself, you would have to constantly pull a small amount of magic through for years without stopping. And most ponies would have to sleep at some point before they accomplished that." Luna chuckled.

"Alright, so I pulled too hard, so in order to use magic safely I'll just have to…" Myles' expression sank, "Re-learn… everything… I know…" he trailed off with increasing frustration.

"It's not actually as bad as you make it out to be," Luna giggled, earning a look of shock from Myles at the playful laugh, "Magic still works the same for you, you just have to get used to using a lot less of it. Treat everything as though it is a delicate procedure, like how you fine-tune crystals with a small amount of magic to accomplish something you wouldn't have been able to on your own."

Myles shakes his head, "This is too much, how can you possibly know all this?"

"We don't," Luna smiles, "It might not work like that at all. It's just the most widely accepted theory. And your situation seems to match up with it, so for now it's safe to assume that is how it works and act accordingly."

Myles nods, grimly accepting the new care with which he now has to approach all his magically powered actions, but then a strange look crosses his face as something from Luna's theory clicks in his mind.

"'Restriction?' The crystal was holding me back?"

Luna nods, "For a purpose that has not been revealed to me, yes."

"And I assume you heard this from our faceless 'friend,'" Luna nods and he frowns in thought, "But it would have had to exert magical power of its own to accomplish that."

"Indeed."

"So where did that power come from?"

"Unfortunately, this now extends into the information on which I am forbidden to speak with you about. Suffice to say, the restriction is gone and you should focus on practicing putting your power to use safely."

"The rest of these crystals… they're out of harmony as well, do they serve the same purpose?"

"Myles…"

"They're all misaligned like the first three were, which means they are all holding me back, aren't they?"

"I'm so sorry."

Myles' head whips around as he spots the outline of an earth pony silhouetted by the light coming from behind it. He recognizes the voice as the one that spoke here before as the entire room is engulfed by light and the pony speaks again.

"You'll be able to return at another time."

"NOOOOO!" Myles had shouted as his eyes snapped open and he pushed himself away from the guest bed and panted heavily. He gritted his teeth in fury as he realized that he wouldn't have access to the crystal cave again until the mysterious pony granted it to him. Twilight had long since returned from Cloudsdale with the rest of his friends and at his shout came running upstairs. Myles had been in no mood to discuss why he had been shouting in his sleep, least of all now that he had no idea when he'd have answers, and Twilight was already irate with him about his actions during her absence. The resulting fight lasted for two days as Twilight insisted Myles stay until the doctors examined him, culminating in the very public argument that had led him back to his home.

Now, with workers on every floor of his house from a project he commissioned, he found the solace he desired to be in short supply. He leans on the wall of his tower's roof and pretends not to see Twilight glaring up at him from the front step. Eventually the doctor cleared his throat.

"Legally though, he has a point."

"I'm sorry," Twilight's eyes narrowed, "Did I just hear you _agree_ with that suicidal stallion?"

"All I'm saying," the doctor raised his hoof defensively, "is that without any conclusive evidence of continued illness, I can't legally have him held for medical reasons. His recovery is unprecedented but without his consent we cannot continue testing."

"Check your results again," Twilight said quietly, Myles had to lean forwards to hear her and smiled a bit at what he heard, "I want to know what happened."

"Then ask him," the doctor shrugged, "I can't help you anymore and while I shall check my results again, due to doctor-patient confidentiality I won't be able to share my findings with you." The doctor turned and briskly made his way back to the hospital. Twilight scowled and Myles had to duck quickly behind the wall to keep from being spotted as she gazed up at the tower again.

Myles stays out of sight and makes his way downstairs. On the second floor he glances outside and sees Twilight finally leaving his doorstep. He nods again to the construction ponies and promptly crawls out the window, ignoring the strange looks from the crew working on his house.

He made his way towards the forest and was about to step inside when he heard a shout from somewhere behind him. Myles rolled his eyes and galloped towards the noise. He slowed to a steady walk as he realized it was coming from Rarity's shop. He raised an eyebrow as he spotted a mannequin fly past the window and trotted up to the door.

"Hey Myles!"

His head whipped around and he spotted Rainbow Dash flying towards him. He ducked just in time as she sped past the spot where his head had just been. She looped around and landed next to him.

"What's going on?"

"I heard a noise from Rarity's shop and I think I just saw a mannequin fly past the window. I was going to see if everything was okay," he finished as he raised a hoof. His eyes widened as the door opened and Fluttershy blinked at them.

"Oh. I'm sorry," she muttered, "Am I in your way?"

"Uh no," Myles glanced nervously at Rainbow, "Is everything alright in there?"

"I think so," she mumbled, "You should ask Rarity, I have to take care of-"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SLEEPOVER AT FLUTTERSHY'S COTTAGE! YAY!"

Myles blinked as three small blurs shot past Fluttershy and she flew silently after them with a look of concern on her face.

"Guess that explains the noise," Myles turned around and shrugged, beginning to walk away.

"Myles! Rainbow Dash!" he heard from behind him as something gripped his tail and dragged him backwards through the door, "Oh I'm so glad to see you both! I need some help!"

Myles frowned and picked himself up off of the floor of Rarity's shop. He glanced over and spotted Rainbow Dash getting to her hooves as well.

"IhavetomaketwentyrobesoutofthisspecialfabricandSweetieBelljust-" Rarity was cut off as Rainbow placed a hoof over her mouth.

"Rarity," she said, suppressing her snickering, "We'll help, just… bring it down to normal speed."

"Take a deep breath, Rarity," Myles said as he placed a hoof on her shoulder.

Rarity inhaled deeply and spoke just as frantically as she pushed Rainbow's hoof aside, "Twenty robes. Special fabric. Sweetie Bell. Need to make more. By tomorrow."

Myles sighed, "Where'd you put the crystals I gave you last time?"

Rarity pointed a shaking hoof at a drawer across the room and Myles went over and opened it, beginning to pull crystals out.

"Alright Rarity, how do you make this fabric?"

With Rainbow Dash there to help calm her down, Rarity was soon able to speak coherently enough to tell Myles how she produced the gold fabric. The process was time consuming, but Myles managed to re-enchant the crystals to help speed up the process. The edges were too delicate to leave up to automation, but with the time-consuming weaving of the middle handled for her, Rarity's mood improved greatly as the task before her slipped back into the realm of possibility. She and Rainbow Dash got to work on the edges while Myles made sure the crystals didn't fall out of alignment and ruin the fabric.

"So, Myles," Rarity spoke casually, as though she hadn't just been panicking a few minutes ago, "I heard you had some excitement while we were in Cloudsdale."

Myles rolled his eyes, "Yeah, it was interesting."

"And you got better, that's cool, right?" Rainbow added with a grin.

"I don't know how, so don't even ask," he said as he glanced back at her with a frown.

"I know, I know," Rainbow said hastily, "if you'd known, you woulda told us by now."

"Right," he nodded and turned back to the crystals. After an awkward silence that stretched on for a few minutes, Rarity finally spoke up.

"Still, so dreadful that you and Twilight are fighting about it," Rarity tried to sound casual, but jumped when Rainbow struck her shoulder with her hoof, "What?"

"I know what you're trying to do," Rainbow whispered to her, unaware that Myles could still hear her, "That's cheating! You don't get to meddle!"

"I'm not meddling, I am trying to find out what's going on with them," Rarity hissed.

"So you can fix it and win, right?" Rainbow hissed back. Both of them turned in surprised when Myles sighed.

"Do I even want to know?" he asked without turning.

"Know what?" Rainbow said casually.

"What you two think I can't hear you talking about," he said, smirking to himself.

"Oh…right…" Rainbow frowned in realization.

"I keep telling you to be careful around him," Rarity scolded, "Sorry Myles, Rainbow and I are having a sort of… erm… friendly…"

"We have a bet," Rainbow explained flatly.

"Rainbow! There's no need to be so blunt," Rarity said harshly.

"Well you weren't doing any good," Rainbow retorted, "he would've figured it out and started asking questions eventually. And in answer to your first question, Myles, no, I didn't tell her. She figured it out."

Myles gritted his teeth, "Figured what out."

"About how you feel about Twilight, darling," she said casually and Myles sighed, "Oh don't be like that my dear, I think it's sweet, you two make a wonderful couple! Or will, I mean," she finished with a nervous laugh.

Myles rounded on them and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a dull ringing from his leg. He raised a hoof to see the detection gem pulsing and frowned.

"Just… just…" He stuttered, "Listen, just tap those crystals twice to shut them off, and as for this… this…"

"Shut up and go kick monster butt!" Rainbow shouted, pointing to the door. Myles nodded and galloped out of the door, tapping the detection crystal as he ran. He frowned as he looked at the three fading red blobs on the detection barrier. They were so small, he thought for a moment that they might be a trio of raccoons after Ponyville trash. Something about the number stuck in his mind as he galloped towards the tree line to make certain of his hunch. Just then, the crystal toned again and he growled at it as he tapped it again. His eyes widened as he saw the outline of a pegasus fade from the barrier. The wings were clearly outlined as though they were in mid-flap and Myles wondered what a pegasus had been doing in the forest this late at night. He facehoofed and redoubled his gallop to the woods, unable to believe he had made the same mistake again.

He gritted his teeth as he stormed through the Everfree Forest, looking around wildly for any sign of movement. He thought he heard shrill screams and galloped in that direction. He reached a clearing and spotted the four ponies he'd been looking for.

"Myles!" Fluttershy called, "Sorry, I lost track of the girls for a bit, but we have to move. There's a cockatrice somewhere around here!"

Myles began to answer when he spotted something on the ground and the world around him slowed to a crawl. The object was clearly made of stone but shaped very much like a pony with an expression of shock. The eyes were widened in terror and Myles' eyes widened as well as he recognized the features.

Twilight Sparkle.

"Myles look out!"

Myles spun and whirled to face what appeared to be a chicken. In Myles' moment of confusion, its eyes shone with light and everything went black for Myles.

He groaned as consciousness returned to him and his eyes blinked open.

Instantly he was on his feet and his horn charged with energy as he faced the beast again.

"Myles, wait!" Fluttershy called and he looked over to see her looking stern. He glances back at the cockatrice and it looks fearful. The creature blinks and stares at something beneath Myles' hooves. Myles' eyes widen as he jumps back off the stone form of Twilight Sparkle and the stone cracks and falls away. Myles keeps focused on Twilight, ignoring the exchange between Fluttershy, the Crusaders and the cockatrice as he sighs with relief, seeing Twilight breathing. Twilight comes to and looks up to see a very irritated Myles.

"You alright?" Myles asks and helps her to her hooves as Fluttershy escorts the girls back to her house.

"Uh… y-yeah," Twilight answer groggily as they turn and follow Fluttershy, "Myles, we need to talk abo-"

"Not tonight, Twilight," he grunted.

"Then when!?" She shouted, "When are you going to tell us what happened to you in here?"

"When I figure out why it happened."

"What kind of answer is that?" Twilight asked angrily as they reached the edge of the woods.

"The answer you are getting."

"Myles, you can't expect me and the others to just leave this alone. We need to know what's bothering you."

"Don't worry," he mumbled, "I'm handling it just fine."

"Then tell me what it is!"

"If I do you'll only worry more."

"Myles, I'm your friend, aren't I?"

"Yes, which is why I don't want to tell you."

"How does that make any sense? You need to open up to us, Myles. We worry about you and when you lock us out like this it just worries us more. Tell me what's wrong."

"No. I don't want to… you'll just …No. If you knew… I…. just no."

"If I knew what? What would I do? Myles, I can help. We can help, just let us in."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try us! Myles whatever it is, we'll be there for you. We'll still be your friends!"

Myles frowned and shut his eyes in frustration, "You can't know that!" His eyes widened as he felt her pull him into a hug.

"Myles, I-"

"So what you are saying is that I should trust you," he said quietly.

"Yes."

He pushed her away from him and took a step back, "Then what were you doing in the forest tonight?"

"I…" Twilight bit her lip, "Well a couple of things, to be honest… firstly I was getting some tea from Zecora…"

"Ohhhhhhh, okay," Myles rolled his eyes, "That would be why you went around my detection barrier so I wouldn't know you went right? Can't have me warning Zecora about your surprise visit, can we?"

She looked ashamed, "No, I also wanted to try and find out what happened to you in here and I was worried you'd try to stop me."

"Twilight-"

"Look, that was wrong of me, I know, but I was just concerned. I had no idea what could scare you so much that you wouldn't talk to any of us and I wanted to help!"

"Twilight-"

"I thought maybe there was a reason you couldn't tell us, the forest is magical and if something had happened I wanted to find a solution. I wasn't going to sit idly by and-"

"TWILIGHT STOP!" He shouted and she simply stared as he began to walk back into town again.

"Myl-"

"Just don't," he growled as he arrived at his door and threw it open. Twilight took a step forwards but the door slammed before she could get any closer. She looked as though she couldn't decide whether to knock down his door or break down in tears, so instead she settled for walking home while staring at the ground.

"Stop comparing yourself to them," the shadow said in a wavering voice, "You aren't them!"

"Luna," Myles growled as he stared at the ground and gritted his teeth, "I thought we were done with this."

The Princess' voice echoed from nowhere in particular, "We are sorry, Myles Shardsole, but you need to see this. You need to remember."

"Back to the royal 'we,' huh? And who said I needed to see this? Why not 'another time?'"

"Because, Myles Shardsole," the familiar Trottingham accent echoed just like the Princess' voice had, "You have to be strong."

**Okay… pacing myself. Seems like every chapter I type out a part where I move forward in the arc super quick and have to go back and delete some of it to keep things moving along at the right pace.**

**So yeah, Rarity and Rainbow have a bet going over Twyles. Expect that to come up again. Honestly, I had considered having everypony in the group knowing about them but Twilight before season one ended, but that seems like a bit much. And sorry to disappoint some of you who might actually be interested in that part of the story, but that bet is going to be going for a while.**

**Hey! Let's talk about this episode! Haven't done that in a while. Couple things I have issue with here, but the first one is pretty minor. Rarity shows Fluttershy a full sheet of her special fabric that's intact before the cutie mark crusaders arrive. Then it is revealed that Sweetie Belle used a sheet to make their outfits. In the sheet Rarity lifts up, which I'm still not entirely certain isn't the exact one she held up earlier, there are three holes for each of the crusader's capes. So if that is the same sheet, Rarity turned her back and then Sweetie Belle made those capes in the space of about ten seconds. If it's a different one, which is more likely since Rarity mentions having to make twenty robes, then she's really only missing one sheet of her special material, which is apparently going to take her all night to replace in addition to making the robes themselves. Seems like if it took that long to make enough material for those robes, Rarity should be considerably more upset. Or she's exaggerating to make an excuse to get out of watching over the crusaders. That last one seems most plausible now that I think about it.**

**The other thing is Fluttershy. Why is she still afraid of Everfree Forest at this point? I know she had a major problem with it before, but she's been inside and even faced down a dragon as well (though that wasn't in the forest, but still, ****_dragon_****). Thing is, Fluttershy only seems really afraid of the forest in this episode until the crusaders go in there, then she swoops in and saves them by using her special ability that hasn't been referenced before and won't come up again until season four. And let's not forget that she just recently went there by herself to drop off some frogs in a swamp. She didn't seem the least bit frightened in that episode until the hydra showed up. Make up your mind, Fluttershy.**

**Next up is Show Stoppers, an episode that focuses so heavily on the Cutie Mark Crusaders that I'm probably going to ignore it's plot altogether. Twilight probably wouldn't even be in that episode if she didn't have to write the letter to Celestia. Sorry if you were looking forward to more crusaders, but honestly, not sure how Myles could fit in there without being a little out of character, especially considering his current uneasy situation with Twilight. Luckily, there's plenty going on with Myles to fill a chapter.**

**I hope.**

**If you're looking for a chapter to blame for the delay of the rest of season one, this is it. I know I said I didn't want to petrify Myles for this episode and originally I didn't. The original draft of this was a little bit longer and because of one paragraph in particular, it got a ****_lot_**** darker. A little ****too**** dark, in fact. The thing is, while that was fun to write and I loved the idea so much that I proceeded to run with it until chapter 20, I hit a huge brick wall with it at that point and had to come back and change things. Now a few good developments have come out of this, a few things got clarified and I got a few more ideas. I also learned that this story needs to stay light in order for my story arc to work and I'm glad that I remembered before posting it. If I hadn't delayed to post all of season one, I probably would have gone with that paragraph and ruined everything. **

**As it is, I just need to rewrite the next few chapters and then finish season one, but by the time you read this, that'll be done. Surprise! Or did I say that already? I'm getting a little confused. **

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	18. Book 1- Ch 18

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

The Show Stoppers or Vengeful Dark

Myles shouted at his surroundings, "STOP! I know all this already! So just LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The familiar figures and setting faded to darkness and a lone figure appeared in front of him. "You can't lose yourself, Myles. I'm sorry, but you need to remember these things."

"WHY!?" He shouts at the shadowy earth pony, "I know who I am and I've left all that other stuff behind me! Stop messing around with my life!"

"It has to be done," the figure says sadly as he too begins to fade, "To save you and numerous others. Hold onto who you were. You have changed, yes, but if you forget how you got here, you will change into something I cannot save."

"What do you mean? What's going to happen?! JUST TELL ME!"

Myles sits up in his bed and slams his hooves against his pillow. He slumps against his pillow and sighs. After a few minutes, he gets up and goes to his bathroom, staring at the pony in his mirror. A blue unicorn glared back at him, the bags under his eyes revealing his lack of restful sleep, his mane disheveled and sticking up at weird angles. Myles splashes water in his face, blinking his eyes and smoothing out his mane.

It was going to be another long day.

The nightmarish reminders of his past had started haunting him every night since he was "locked out" of the crystal cave. It had only been a week since they started and already Myles felt just as tired and worn out as he was before Twilight arrived.

Twilight herself had taken his grim dismissal of her as a sign that she should press him for information. It seemed like every time Myles stepped outside she was waiting to demand what he had been hiding from them. His other friends still respected his desires to not discuss the matter. So Myles took to visiting his other friends more often, as Twilight received strange looks from the others when she breached the subject.

The presence of his other friends carried their own set of troubles. Anytime he was in the presence of Rainbow Dash or Rarity, the issue of his feelings for Twilight would be brought up and prodded at until Myles either said something or left. Some proddings were subtle and some weren't. The rare occasions he was with them both would often end with them arguing in a hushed whisper and him leaving because they had once again forgotten that he could hear them regardless. Applejack had so much farm work to do at all times that he often felt awkward around her unless he helped and while he did so on one day it resulted in him being more exhausted, leading to him needing more sleep that night and a special extended nightmare. Accompanying Pinkie Pie meant helping her plan and throw her famous parties. Myles failed to do this for even a single afternoon, his sensitive hearing combining with her raucous parties to give him a near constant headache until the next morning. Fluttershy spent her time caring for the animals and this resulted in a complication that Myles still didn't quite understand when he attempted to help her.

The animals could be seen frolicking and playing from a distance, some of them even roughhousing until Fluttershy told them off. As soon as the animals saw Myles, however, they fled and hid, either in their respective homes or whatever furniture or debris was nearby. The ones roughhousing would actually flee the house entirely. Fluttershy questioned them after Myles left and later reported that they refused to talk to her about their behavior at all. Myles suspected that news of his latest victory had spread throughout the forest. He hadn't killed the starspider, he was certain of that much, but evidently the word that he was capable of doing so had spread fast. He told Fluttershy not to worry and returned home to his nightmares.

After a quick breakfast, he peeked outside and didn't see Twilight anywhere, so he made his way out as quietly as possible, deciding to visit Rarity again, as she had been the most considerate of his feelings despite her pestering (arguably Fluttershy was equally considerate, but she spent the entirety of his visit trying to calm the animals so it was hard to compare, he also felt her disposition might change if she confirmed that he had scared the animals under her care). He began walking towards the dress shop when he jumped in surprise at a shout.

"Myles!"

His head whipping in the direction of the call, Myles winced as he saw Twilight galloping towards him and turned to flee. He felt a tug and turned back to see his tail glowing purple, magically held in place by the unicorn mare now approaching him. He scowled and waited as she closed the distance, stopping next to him and panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath.

"There… you are…," she panted, "We have… to talk…"

"No, Twilight," he said quietly, "We don't, I can handle things myself."

"How… many times… do I have…. To…"

"Um, excuse me?"

The two unicorns turned to see Fluttershy landing gently on the other side of Myles.

"Sorry to interrupt, but…" Fluttershy mumbled and scuffed at the ground, shuddering with fear. Myles' eyes had gone wide.

"What was that, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, having finally caught her breath.

"I said…." She mumbled again and Twilight leaned her head closer to try and hear, unconsciously letting go of Myles' tail. He immediately took the opportunity to sprint into the woods, magically blocking her attempt to grab him again and causing her to shout with frustration.

"I finally had him, Fluttershy! What was so important?" She said angrily, causing the pegasus to shrink in feat a little.

"I said, 'It's back.'"

"What?" Twilight's face lost all anger and changed to one of confusion, "What's back?"

"When we came back from Cloudsdale, Myles told me to tell him if the animals coming out of the …forest… mentioned seeing a certain monster. The one they're all scared of."

Twilight's eyes widened in fear, "the starspider?"

Fluttershy nodded weakly and then immediately took off for her house. Twilight frowned and galloped into the woods. She had been in the woods previously, but she didn't know the area as well as Myles did. On her previous visits, Twilight knew where she was going and didn't meet much of the local wildlife. Now, chittering and squealing creatures big and small frequently bounded out of the brush and she had to dodge some of the larger creatures as they fled in such fear that they paid no mind to her. She was particularly shaken when a clearly terrified bear barreled past her at what she was certain must be its top speed. She pressed on, heading in the exact opposite direction of the fleeing animals and towards the occasional crash that shook the trees around her. Eventually she entered a strange grove where the trees bent inwards over a small clearing. She listened intently for the fight before she felt herself suddenly propelled sideways and skidded to a stop on the grass.

"WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Myles shouted as Twilight shook her head and looked up at the pony that had tackled her. Glancing behind him, she spotted a strange tree trunk exactly where she had been standing before. As Myles helped her to her hooves, she looked closer and realized the bark was strangely shiny and had hairs sticking out of it. Her eyes widened in realization just before she felt herself pushed backwards again and a tree-sized spider leg slammed into the spot she had been standing in. Myles was on his back on the other side of the leg and rolled to his hooves quickly, glancing between her and something that she couldn't see in the darkness.

"GET OUT OF HERE! GO!"

"Myles I can help!" she shouted and then gasped as she ran from another strike.

"TWILIGHT GO! RUN!" Myles shouted back as he ran and bounded off of the two legs, propelling himself into the dark canopy above. She heard a hissing sound ring from above and saw Myles appear from the dark again, rolling to a rough stop a few feet to her left and shakily picking himself up. Twilight gasped as she spotted eight points of light appear above them and began to run towards Myles, who was still getting up. She eyed the lights, which brightened until they fired energy forwards with a sound like rushing wind and a roaring fire. She jumped in front of Myles, not understanding his shout as she summoned a magical barrier. In the next second, the energy slammed against her barrier, destroying it and flinging her backwards into a tree. For Twilight Sparkle, everything went dark.

Twilight groaned as she felt a throbbing pain all along her back, irritated by the movement below her body. Her eyes blinked open and she looked down to see a familiar shade of blue. She looked up to see a slightly darker mane spattered with a strange glowing teal fluid. She shook her head and she looked a little nervous as she realized the object she was being carried on was… "Myles?"

He didn't turn around, "Are you alright?"

"I'm- I think I'm fine, my back hurts."

"Yeah, well that's how most ponies react to being flung into a tree."

"What happened after I… you know…?"

"My job," Myles grumbled, finally turning to look at her and making her gasp as she spotted dried blood around his mouth, "The thing I keep trying to keep you safe from."

"Myles you can't possibly-"

"Getting a little sick of you telling me what I can't do while I'm doing it, Twilight Sparkle," he growled as he turned to face the surroundings that brightened in front of them. A few minutes later they walked out of the trees in silence. They both looked up as somepony shouted their names.

"Twilight! Myles!"

The others galloped towards them, hugging them both and expressing their relief.

"We felt the woods a shakin' from out here, thought you two were goners!" Applejack told them, clearly happy that she was wrong, "Is Twilight okay?" she asked, noting her position.

"She took a hit, but she should be fine," Myles grunted as one of his legs shook and the knee of that leg hit the ground. Applejack moved forwards and caught Twilight on her back, lifting her away as Rainbow helped Myles to his hooves.

"What about you?" Rainbow asked as she felt him shake again.

"I've had worse, I'll be fine," he grumbled as he began to move towards his house, Rarity placed a hoof on his shoulder to stop him.

"Darling, you need to see a doctor!" she said with obvious concern. He shook her hoof loose and made his way quickly to his door, opening it and passing through.

"No," he said through the small crack of his door left open, "What I need is a shower. Make sure Twilight's okay," he said as he shut the door and the others heard it click when he locked it. They stood there shocked and after a few moments they heard water running.

"Somepony should make sure he's okay," Twilight stated, but then her look of shock deepened when Applejack shook her head.

"No," she said warmly, "He'll be fine. Ah trust him. He's done this job for a while now."

"But he's never had to go up against this sort of thing before! And he already almost died last time he-"

"Twilight," Applejack's voice took on a stern tone, "He'll be fine. Let's make sure you are too."

Twilight kept her eyes on the tower as Applejack carried her away, biting back several protests as the others gave her looks of worried apprehension.

"Someday he might not be…"

Inside, Myles, made his way to the bathroom and started up the shower, leaving the tap in the cold position and shuddering a bit as he stepped inside. His muscles ached and the adrenaline still pounded, only beginning to be cooled by the icy water running over him. He scrubbed away the dried blood on his snout and scowled as he saw some of the strange glowing teal fluid run off of his mane and down the drain. His involuntary shudder had been triggered when he remembered his latest fight. As it was, he pounded a hoof into the wall, cracking it and leaving a dent as he thought over it.

Twilight's world had gone black, but when Myles looked over and saw her lying unmoving on the ground, his vision was clouded with red.

He rolled to his feet and roared at the monstrous shape obscured by the dark. There was no insult, no witty remark or clear warning, only a long, drawn out bellow that actually caused the starspider to lift one of its massive legs and step back. Despite the creature's lack of eyelids, Myles later felt sure that it would have been blinking in surprise if it could. At the moment, he simply took the monster's hesitation as an invitation and sprinted forwards. His horn lit up and he grabbed one of the spider's legs with his magic, then he jerked his head down as he pulled on one of its joints and rolled out of the way as the monster hissed in pain, the front part of its leg slamming into the ground where he had been mere moments before.

Myles scowled as he was spattered with a glowing teal fluid spraying from the stump of the spider's ruined leg. He tuned his horn to the crystals within its abdomen and the spider hissed as it was lifted off of the ground, its legs flailing wildly and striking the trees around them. Myles gritted his teeth and prepared to dispatch the monster when he remembered another monster, vulnerable and misunderstood, its fate in his hooves.

He was snapped out of his memory by a large black leg swinging at his head. He ducked quickly and flung the spider backwards with his magic. Its legs slammed into the trunks on either side as it hit the tree line, knocking rows of trees over as it flew off into the darkness.

"RIGHT?! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH ME AND-" his eyes widened as he galloped back into the trees and he sighed with relief as he saw Twilight's torso expand and contract with her slow, steady breaths. He felt the aches and pains of the fight catch up with him and frowned as he magically lifted Twilight onto his back. He looked sad as he remembered taking off the creature's leg and realized he'd caused it even more pain. His head throbbed and he winced as he rubbed a hoof across his snout, coming away with a smeared spot of his own blood. Myles shook his head and began walking back to Ponyville.

Myles shivered, brought out of his reflection by the icy water finally registering with his recovering body. He shut the water off and dried himself off, wrapping the towel around himself to keep warm as he flopped down on his bed.

He'd almost done it again. He had no doubt that he would have ended the starspider if he hadn't remembered the ursa. Even worse, Twilight had been injured this time. He secretly hoped she was fine like she appeared to be. He hadn't wanted to leave her so soon, but he felt she was safe with the others and was eager to clean himself and thus hide the evidence of the fight and its toll on him.

Myles wondered briefly if he should have killed the spider regardless, since he already knew its condition caused it pain, but he quickly dismissed that thought. His first thoughts should have been of how best to help the creature, not to put it out of its misery. He hadn't even intended to remove its leg, that had happened while he was still blinded by rage over the spider attacking Twilight. Still, he may have to kill the monster eventually, but only if there was no other option. He'd accepted this as part of his job long ago, but had so far been able to avoid the matter altogether aside from the two times now when it had almost happened without him realizing.

"What's happening to me?" Myles moans out loud as his face flopped onto the pillow.

_Hold on to who you were._

Who he was? He was a failure. He had disappointed his family, lost all his friends and managed to become even more of a failure by stumbling along something great and then immediately hitting a dead end with it for years. Then he'd come to Ponyville and taken up the job that he performed relentlessly despite lack of sleep and ridicule from those in authority over him.

Then one day Twilight Sparkle arrived and everything changed. He had finally found out how to make crystal magic work and used it to improve his life. He'd found a group of friends that stuck with him despite his mistakes and he'd finally earned the respect of those who'd hired him. His life had been better than ever and he seemed to make progress in his research every day.

And over the course of the past several months he had ruined all of it obsessing over his job. Myles scowled at himself and pressed his face into the pillow, blocking everything else out. He found himself thinking that if he'd lost who he was then the simplest solution would be to start acting like his old self again. Try as he might, he couldn't think of what he'd be doing differently, other than focusing on his crystal research and not brooding over his actual job.

He sighed and got up, walking downstairs to the forge and looking at the last crystal he had been working on. It was still in three separate pieces and he remembered that he had been trying to make an array of crystals to contain as much power as his forge to function as backup power. He stared at the crystals blankly, unable to remember why he had thought he might need an extra source of power for his forge. The three pieces were arranged in a triangle on the anvil and pointed inwards. Myles frowned as he looked at the array and puzzled over the energies contained within. Refilling the array would have to be done manually, as trying to charge them with the main crystal would likely fuse them together, unless they were far enough away, but that would mean…

"Wait," Myles asked out loud, "What would that do?"

He levitated the crystals to the far walls and tuned them together. He began to sweat with the effort as he pulled energy from the main crystal into the wavelength. Myles shouted out in pain as he collapsed to the ground. Picking himself up, he wiped off his snout and examined the crystals, which now rung with contained power. Panting heavily, he checked each crystal individually for its energy levels and his eyes widened as he looked up to the hammer crystal embedded in his ceiling.

The metal ring was exposed on one side. He grunted and reversed the array, watching as the energy flowed back together into the main crystal and it grew back over the metal, enveloping it as it had before. He had managed to shrink his hammer crystal on accident. Biting his lip, Myles looked thoughtful as he sat back, then smiled and ran upstairs to get more crystals.

A short time later, Rarity entered Myles' house to check on him and found him slumped over on the anvil with a smile on his face. She smiled warmly and brought a blanket downstairs, pushing aside a pile of crystals and gently threw the cover over him before leaving.

Had she been listening, she might have heard him mumble as he heard the crystals around him shift. With a wide grin on his face Myles barely opened his mouth to speak.

"I can save one."

**Phew. Okay. That chapter was all over the place and took way too long for how long it is, but stuff had to be set up and I had to rewrite stuff so I didn't give stuff away. Thing is, I'm getting irritated with myself and want to make progress while at the same time wanting to make a story I'm satisfied with. I think I'm getting a little paranoid because I keep thinking the parts I come back and write sound different from the parts I wrote during another sitting. I dunno.**

**Going back and watching this episode was kind of interesting. See, it's kinda cute in that they give away all the cutie mark crusaders talents in this one and potentially set up a really good episode later when they all facehoof and find out they knew their talents all along, but focused on the wrong thing in this episode.**

**But season 5 just started, and while I haven't watched it yet, I'm worried they might be forgetting this again. I realize some people were upset when they focused on the Cutie Mark Crusaders during season 1, but that's no reason to abandon the storyline associated with them. I guess I'd at least like to see the other end of this joke before it gets too much longer. I know their continued search is supposed to be inspiring or something, but it still feels a little cruel considering they should really know by now. Besides, they can always add more crusaders and have them be mentored by the originals or something.**

**I dunno. I'm gonna move onto the next chapter. I got work to do.**

**Crap I just called this work.**

**I got a story to write.**

**Really hope the line doesn't blur.**

**Oh wait, a dog and pony show is next, this should be good.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	19. Book 1- Ch 19

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

A Dog and Pony Show or Angry Stars Underground

Myles couldn't help but grin as he placed the final crystal in the array at the edge of town. He performed a final test to make sure it didn't interfere with the shield barrier and then turned confidently back towards town.

He blinked nervously as he heard screaming getting louder and closer. With a puzzled look he watched as a diminutive streak of purple rushed past his knees and to the center of town.

Myles rolled his eyes and followed Spike towards the town center.

He was surprised to see the girls gathered together around the town square with their attention focused on Spike. He glanced at the group and galloped forwards as he heard part of what Spike was saying and noted the one absent pony.

"Rarity! Woods! Jewels! Dogs! Hole! Taken! SAVE HER!"

Myles tapped his crystal and found no alerts on the barrier. He frowned and stepped forward before he spoke up.

"Show us."

He galloped along with the others as Spike filled out some of the details of his frenzied story. Frowning, he gallops harder as he sees the holes begin to fill with soil. He grits his teeth and dives into one only to pick himself up and spit out the dirt he had swallowed onto the surface. The girls all attempted to dive in as well but were met with similar resistance. Myles spotted one last open hole and dove towards it only to be hit in the face with another mound of dirt. His head spun as he rolled over and landed on the other side of the pile, his vision fading to black.

"Myles," Rarity had said, "You seem in good spirits today!"

He grinned, "Well I may have made an important breakthrough just now," he said happily as he examined the new array he was setting up.

"In your research?"

Myles turned around and gave Rarity a confused look, "What? Oh. Also that."

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better," Rarity smiled warmly and slowly slid up next to him, "Myles, I was wondering if you could do me a teeny tiny favor?"

He raised his goggles and turned to look at her proper, "Um. Okay. I mean, I'll do what I can. What do you need?"

Rarity smiled, "Thank you so much, dear. See, when I was a filly my horn lit up one day and dragged me in a random direction. I followed it to what I thought was a rock. After a… very unladylike display of anger… a strange explosion broke the rock and I discovered it was filled with gems of every size shape and color."

"And lemme guess," Myles said as his lip curled in thought, "You want to know how to do it again?"

"Yes," she beamed, "I just got a rather large order from none other than Sapphire Shores and I need a large quantity of gems to fill it. If I could learn to do it at will, or at least what set it off when I was young-er, I could fill the order in a day!"

"Hmmm," Myles rubbed his chin with a hoof, "You said your horn actually moved you towards the gems?"

"Yes, dear."

"That's… pretty unusual, actually," Myles quickly continued as Rarity's expression sank, "That situation may have been unique, but I might be able to find a way to reveal gems just beneath the surface…"

Myles pulled over a crystal and nodded to Rarity.

"Now just focus on the crystal and try and bounce magic off of the surface, just a light touch…"

"Myles!"

He groaned and sat up, looking at the girls surrounding him, "Ugh… getting real tired of waking up this way…"

"Maybe you should stop jumping headfirst into danger then," Twilight frowned as Rainbow stuffed a hoof in her mouth to hide her snicker, "You're lucky there weren't more rocks in that dirt for you to hit your thick skull on."

Myles rolled his eyes, "Where's Rarity?"

The others looked a little nervous. "They blocked all the entrances…" Rainbow said sadly.

"Not all of them," they turned to see Spike holding a fishing pole with a blue sapphire on the end of the line, "I'm comin' Rarity!" Spike shouts as he casts the line down into the hole.

Almost immediately the line goes taught and Myles dives forwards, wrapping his hooves around Spike's feet and preventing him from being pulled in. He feels his hooves slide and then stop as Twilight gripped his back legs. Myles' head was tugged into the tunnel, which he was secretly glad of as his face turned crimson at the realization of what Twilight's current view of the situation was. He had little time to dwell on this as he felt himself tugged forwards and stopped four more times before being dragged deep into the tunnel and losing consciousness once more when landing in a cave under a pile of ponies.

"Told you," a familiar voice made Myles scowl, "Had us worried for a second there."

Myles didn't even turn to face what he knew would be a shadowy figure and chose to shut his eyes rather than face the Trottingham accent's latest taunts.

"Ugh. Can I not just have this small victory without your cryptic taunting?"

"I'm not taunting you," the voice sounds slightly offended, "I've been trying to help you."

"In the most annoying way you can think of."

"What? No, I can think of plenty more irritating methods than this."

Myles rolls his eyes, "Fine, don't switch to those then."

"Don't worry," the voice sounded serious again, "I don't have the time. Neither do you, actually. Rarity has some questions for you."

"Then why'd you drag me here?"

"To congratulate you on holding onto yourself when life tried to pull you into being something else."

Myles frowned, "I haven't done anything yet…"

"Haven't you? You glimpsed what you might become and your duty and instead of choosing to refuse one, you chose a third option and overcame it."

"Still haven't yet."

"You made the decision," the voice began to fade, "You'll figure it out…"

"Is he seriously knocked out again?"

Myles grumbled as he awoke from the memory and picked himself off of the ground.

"Says the pegasus who didn't just fall who knows how far and have five other ponies land on top of them…"

"Spike's doing okay," Rainbow smirked as Spike brushed dust off of himself and sat up from where the entire group had been lying on top of him.

"Well yeah," Myles rolled his eyes, "But he's a dragon. We could toss him in a volcano and he'd be able to swim back."

"I can do that?"

"Actually, you might not be able to until you're a little older," Twilight said, sending a scornful look at Myles, who shrugged back at her.

"How are we gonna find Rarity? There's so many tunnels…" Applejack thought out loud.

Spike launched into some sort of fantasy of saving Rarity while Myles actually took a look around the cave. His ears twitched irritably as he tried to tune in on a familiar sound.

"We'll have to go down all of em, ah suppose," Applejack said sadly.

"Maybe not," Myles spoke up and turned back to the group, "Spike, you said these dogs were after gems, right?"

Spike nodded and Myles continued, "So they kidnapped Rarity to help find gems, which means they were probably doing a slipshod job of it by themselves, soo…."

His horn lit up and several gems shone through the surface of one of the tunnels. The girls gasped.

"I thought only Rarity could do that!" Spike exclaimed.

"Gems are just really, really pure crystals Spike," Myles smirked, "She may have done it first but I…" Myles looked a little sad as the realization hit him, "I taught her this spell… it's my fault she's down here…"

He looked up to see Twilight as she placed her hoof on his shoulder, "And because you know the spell, we'll be able to find her. Don't worry about why she's here, just focus on saving her. Lead the way."

Myles nodded and continued casting the spell as he galloped down the tunnel. The sides of the tunnel lit up in front of them as a trail of crystals was revealed. His lip curled as he felt the usual sensation of something wet on his snout, but he charged onwards. They came to an open section of cave just as they heard cries from Rarity echoing through the caves. Myles put on a new burst of speed but stumbled and rolled to a stop as something heavy landed on his back. He glanced up at a large dog sitting on his back just as it wrapped a rope around his snout.

He heard Applejack shouting something as he looked over and saw the other girls had been pounced on by diamond dogs as well. He bit down angrily on the rope and tore it in half before attempting to shake off the mutt on his back. It wrapped its arms around his neck in response and he struggled with it as he started to have trouble breathing. He heard Applejack shout something else before his ear twitched again.

The dog on his back was wearing a collar. A collar adorned with gems.

Myles grinned and tuned into the crystal's frequency.

He heard a yelp above him as the dog released his hold on Myles and flew across the room, bouncing off of the dogs who had been struggling with the others and landing in a heap of fur against the opposite wall. The others got up and trotted over to him, Twilight with an expression of worry on her face.

"Myles! You're bleeding again!" She indicated his snout and he nodded.

"Never mind that. You guys have to go after Rarity," he tilted his head towards the tunnel he had been running towards.

"We have to go? What about you?" Twilight demanded with a confused expression. Her eyes widened as she heard growling echoing from the tunnel they had come from, as well as several other conjoining tunnels leading to the chamber.

"I'll keep them off your backs," he said confidently.

"You have no idea how many there are! You can't possibly-" Twilight began.

"Twilight Sparkle," Myles eyes narrowed, "You're telling me what I can't do again."

"C'mon Twilight," Applejack called from the tunnel ahead, "He can handle this."

Twilight looked concerned but shook her head and galloped after the others.

Myles wiped his snout free of blood and stood at the entrance to the tunnel the others had fled down with a stern expression as he faced the other caves. The tunnels shook and a few rocks landed nearby but he didn't flinch as dozens of dogs covered in metal plate armor crowded down each of the tunnels and rumbled to a stop in the junction. The leading ones sniffed at Myles and barked with derision at him. The dogs in back joined in despite not being able to see. The dogs in front quieted down as they glared at the pony in front of them, who had joined in on the laughter and was now grinning at them. It took a bit for the laughter from the back to die down and a yelp was heard as someone was nudged into silence.

"What so funny, puny pony?" the dog in front asked in a gruff tone.

Myles chuckles more and then takes a few deep breaths to calm himself in between laughs. Finally he wipes a tear from his eye and looks back at the scowling canines.

"Nah," he shrugged, "You wouldn't get it."

The dog up front opens its maw to speak but is cut off by the one immediately to its right, "No! Tell us! We'll get it! We want to know what pony thinks is so funny!"

"Welll," Myles looked skeptically at them, "Nope, there's no way. You'd have to have been there."

"What is joke, pony?!" The dog shouts at him.

"Alright, take a few steps back, all of you," Myles motions them back with a hoof. The dogs step back with the exception of the leader, who begins to growl before his second in command pulls him into place.

"We still don't see what's so funny, pony." The second one growled with a look of confusion.

"Give it a minute," Myles snickers.

The lead dog finally decides he's had enough and howls furiously as he prepares to charge. Myles grins as his horn lights up. The dogs howl in pain as every crystal they passed on the way in begins noisily reverberating and builds to an incredibly high pitch. The tunnel containing the lead dogs collapses on top of them as every crystal in the walls of the cave explodes outwards, showering them in bits of rock as they fled back down the tunnel. The dogs in the other tunnels stand there in shock as Myles cackles out loud.

"What?" He continues snickering, "I thought it was funny."

He braces himself to respond to the first blow but looks confused as the entire group begins to back away.

"Really, that's it?" He shouts in disappointment, "What kind of guard dogs are you? COME ON! FIGHT ME!" Myles bellows at the dogs and as soon as he increases in volume the dogs scramble over each other, yelping and shouting at the ones in back to retreat. Amidst the confusion, Myles catches parts of words as he sits down and looks strangely at the fleeing horde.

"It's him!"

"Run!"

"He found us! Nowhere is safe!"

"What about the bosses?"

"He probably already got them! JUST GO!"

"Where do we go?!"

"AWAY! Run until you can't run anymore and then run again!"

Myles sits there and frowns at the empty tunnels in front of him.

"Yeah," he says pathetically as he waves a hoof at them, "and don't come back."

"MYLES! LOOK OUT!"

Myles' head whips round and he dives forward to dodge the black hairy column that sank into the ground where he had been. He did a double take as the most important part of that description sank in.

"No," he muttered before rolling away from another leg as it speared into the ground next to him, "No, come on! WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN HERE!?"

The starspider hisses angrily as it clambers out of the darkness and blasts the rocks above Myles. He runs full tilt between its legs and smirks as a rock slams into its head. "Really should watch what you're doing there pal." He snickers as he rolls away from its retaliation and to his feet. He gallops down the tunnel where the girls were and skidded to a stop in front of them, he was relieved to see them all safe even as Twilight approaches him with a look of worry.

"Myles! That's the only way out of this place!"

A particularly ugly dog spoke up in a whine, "It was hiding in the gems! Squash it! Squash it!"

"Quiet you," Rarity says to the dog, who shrinks in fear as she turns to Myles, "Myles I'm afraid they're right, we're trapped here. Isn't there anything you can do?" The dogs behind her shrink and shiver in fear, a foul smelling puddle pooling behind them.

Myles looks crestfallen, "But… but I was going to…"

The cave shakes and he hears hissing behind him as Twilight shouts, "What's wrong Myles?!"

"I was going to save one…"

"WE NEED SAVING!"

Myles' eyes water as he turns, seeing the spider scramble up the tunnel slowly as his adrenaline kicks in. He winces as it slips on the stump of its left front leg, torn off at the joint by Myles himself in blinding anger. He shakes his head as he sees the cracked shell around its legs next to its body, split by hitting a line of trees he flung it through instead of doing what he now had to do to save the lives of his friends. He blinked as a ray of light hit him in the eye, reflected off of something in the walls of the tunnel that spilt and shattered as the spider barreled through to get to them.

He blinked again and shifted his head to the side. Myles grinned as he stood up and his horn shone with magic.

"Please be enough. Please be enough. Please please please please…." Myles mutters as he focuses and tunes in the crystals embedded in the walls of the tunnel he had been guarding before. He feels fluid run down his snout as he pulls on the energy from within the spider while carrying the signal of the embedded crystals. He grits his teeth and continues pulling even as he hears the collective gasp of everypony behind him. He gasps and releases his hold as the crystals fill and feedback into his horn, hurting him in the process. His eyes snap open and he looks hopeful at what he sees.

The starspider writhes a bit, but shakes its head and begins to flee back down the tunnels. Along the way, it stumbles into one of the many holes it made in the ground trying to kill Myles. Its leg sinks halfway in and it struggles to free itself from the hole that is ever so slightly bigger than the leg now protruding from it. It wrests itself free and flees, hissing as it scrambles away.

"Myles! What did you do!? That was amaz- Myles? Myles!"

Twilight's voice echoes oddly in the cave and Myles has just enough time to wonder if it sounds that way because of the cave or because he's losing consciousness again before he falls to the floor.

Twilight and Rarity are able to put their heads together and navigate the group down one of the other tunnels and back to the surface. Rarity had been about to suggest that they try and clear the original with magic, but changed her mind when she saw the amount of collapsed rock filling the tunnel. Twilight had been distracted at the time when she moved closer to the pile of gems that Myles rested upon, trying to discern what he had been mumbling.

"I will save one."

**Okay, little short, but for once that's not my fault. I could extend some scenes some more but that'd be adding way too much and honestly this episode just caught me off guard.**

**As the first episode that focuses on Spike's crush on Rarity proper, it's actually very fun to watch and one of my favorites. Between Rarity outsmarting the diamond dogs with ****_sass_**** alone and Spike's confused fantasy sequences this whole thing is brilliant.**

**Unless you have to write a character going along with it and ignoring the two additional fantasy sequences of Rarity's suffering at the paws of the dogs, which the entire group stops their attempts to save Rarity completely in order to have. They're brief and not as funny as Spike's fantasy and I'm beginning to suspect they may just be there because the episode wasn't long enough, which is sad because I think they could have done a bit more with Spike and Rarity's situations that would have been better.**

**Ever since I started this I realized I'd have to include gems as crystals and tie that into this episode somehow, hence Myles being the one who teaches Rarity to find gems in this episode. My reasoning is that gems are too expensive for Myles to work with and don't make enough of a difference from less shiny crystals for him to prefer them, but they're still crystalline in structure and thus still follow the rules of crystal magic. I believe Rarity's ability to find gems is never referenced again in the series save for the story of her getting her cutie mark a few episodes later and it even works differently in that episode, dragging her along to the gems and not revealing them to her at all. The rock splits open only because of the sonic rainboom. This is explained away as her preadolescent magical ability being out of control, but that still doesn't give an excuse other than plot convenience for the spell to not work the same and show her the gems on that occasion. I'm working on my own theory based on how crystal magic works in this story as to why it happened. Hopefully I remember to mention it when we get to the Cutie Mark Chronicles.**

**Hey! Speaking of things that haven't appeared again in three more seasons, we got to the diamond dogs! I watched Rainbow Rocks a week or so after it hit Netflix, which was either before or very early in my working on the first chapters of this story and that film is part of the reason I keep pointing out stuff that inexplicably disappears from the series. The show has a wealth of fictional situations and creatures to draw on but doesn't often reuse them. Obviously I've tried to bring things up again to make it seem like those things didn't just disappear, but what first got my attention was the diamond dogs appearing briefly in the talent show in Rainbow Rocks. It's weird on several levels. Firstly, it has been over three seasons since they showed up and all of a sudden they're just there in the human universe. Not only that, but instead of barely organized monsters they're students along with the rest of the other versions of everyone in Equestria. **

**This may seem a little mean of me to point out, but think about who else hasn't appeared in human form yet. You've got the changelings, who are arguably closer in physiology to ponies. You have the Buffalo tribe who attacked Appleoosa, who are certainly just as intelligent as ponies (maybe I saw the skinny one once, but that may have been a background pony I didn't recognize instead). Horses, who haven't appeared much in Equestria proper anyways despite just being slightly larger ponies. And let's not forget the multitude of other farm animals including cows, sheep, mules and donkeys that are some perplexing mix of full citizenry and still somehow livestock in Equestria, making their placement in society so dubious as to completely exclude them from having human forms. With all those to choose from, somebody in the animation studio said "Hey! Y'know who we should throw in human forms for, just for fun? The diamond dogs!"**

**And I salute them for it. It was a fun reference and it got me thinking about earlier episodes again. This story may or may not have existed because of it.**

**So of course I pay them back by giving a reason for the diamond dogs' disappearance from Equestria. It's more than the series gave us and it just so happens to help with my story as well. **

**One of my favorite parts of this episode is certainly Spike's fantasy sequence. I'm still not sure how to feel about the possible relationship implied in a Spike x Rarity pairing, but at least in this episode it provides good comedy. And then Spike ****_impales_**** a diamond dog.**

**Probably everyone spotted this already, but for those who didn't, watch that dream sequence again. Dogs pour out of the ceiling and Spike swats them aside with his lance (which he just has because shut up, it's a dream) and they all yelp and fall to the side. Then the camera cuts a little closer to Spike and he swats a few more dogs before ****_stopping his lance in mid-swing, after which you hear the last dog yelp at a higher pitch_****.**

**Now I know what you're saying, "C'mon Doc, we all saw that, it was right out in the open!" Well yes, but one of you may have missed it and I felt it necessary to point it out again before I mentioned that in the middle of this hilarious hero fantasy, Spike imagines murdering a diamond dog by impaling it on a large lance. That's bucking violent man. Yes it's played for laughs, but it doesn't take that much imagination to figure out what that looks like and how much worse it is than what he does to the others. The rest of the diamond dogs get swatted aside and, at worst, their tails singed off by fire, but no, that one dog ****_had to die_****. Even worse is the fact that Spike continues using the lance after this and it is entirely clean. Granted I knew they weren't going to start showing blood on this show out of the blue, but they blatantly show him using it again after you know it's been through a dog. Funny how Spike's dream takes such a dark turn and then automatically cleans it up so he doesn't get traumatized by it.**

**Also, where has Spike seen someone wearing armor and wielding a lance before? Or heard the phrase "heigh-ho" before spurring a horse on? HORSES ARE PEOPLE! Twilight even gets offended when he does this. Honestly the only thing that bugs me more than this blatant reference to humanity is the poor foal with a bow and arrow for a cutie mark in Applebloom's class. Not only does that not make any sense for a pony to know about or use, but that pony's entire life now revolves around that thing that nopony can possibly fathom. If I remember right he's an earth pony too, so no hope of magic helping him out with that mysterious device he can't possibly operate with any degree of success even if he knew how. Did the ponies wipe out mankind and install their civilization complete with cruel references to their recent oppression?**

**That's about eight different kinds of messed up. Just sayin'.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	20. Book 1- Ch 20

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Green Isn't Your Color or Rain of Titans

"Twahlut, Uh rully don she da poin of dis."

Myles winced uncomfortably as he struggled in the magical grip of Twilight Sparkle. His snout was being held upwards and Twilight was using her horn to shine light up his nostrils to examine them.

"I need some more information to go on to figure out what's been happening to you when you use magic."

"Uhm- ugh," he pushes her hoof away and stretches his snout uncomfortably, "I'm fine, Twilight. Really."

"Is that so? Then we need to talk about your addiction to stuffing pizza sauce up your nose right before you use magic."

"Yeah it hurts a little, Twilight," Myles rolls his eyes, "but I can use more magic than ever before and protect the town better. It's a small price to pay for OW!"

Myles is cut off as Twilight tilts his head back and forces his nostril open again with magic, ignoring his protests and holding him in place.

"I've been looking into magical overexertion in unicorns and the only documented cases of snoutbleeds were in cases that were fatal or near fatal. I thought it was just a close call with hydra before, but now I strongly suspect this has been happening every time you use magic and you've just been hiding it like the stubborn pony you are!"

Myles nose begins to bleed again as he tries to break Twilight's hold on him and get a word in. He manages to free his snout so it's not being stretched.

"Hiding something that isn't a problem from the pony who overanalyzes everything? Imagine that! It's almost as though I was worried I'd be detained against my will so somepony can AWWWGH!"

He gets cut off again as a glass plate scrapes the blood off of his snout and Twilight floats it over to a microscope and focuses it while holding him still.

"Almost dying every time you cast magic isn't a problem? Do you even hear youself?"

"Do you? Do I look almost dead to you? Look, I don't like the nosebleeds but as long as that's the only symptom of me being able to protect the town-"

"How about the passing out after each time you protect anyone?"

"Right? Who knew fighting monsters would be so much work? If I had I would have told Celestia to give this job to somepony else!"

Twilight frowned as she examined the sample and then turned back to him.

"Be sarcastic all you want, but these symptoms are associated with a potential threat to your life and while you may not care-"

"I do care Twilight but seeing as I haven't died yet I see no reason to-"

"Be sensible?"

"I'M FINE, TWILIGHT!"

As Myles shouted the barrier holding him broke and he stomped towards the door.

"Maybe you are but the fact that you are having the symptoms means that your situation is unique and deserves further investigation. You can't tell me you aren't the slightest bit curious. If I could just take frequent samples and measurements-"

Twilight froze as she met his gaze. The windows rattled and books toppled from the shelves as Myles' snout was covered in a fresh trail of blood.

"I am not your lab rat," he said quietly before kicking the door open behind him and stomping out into the late morning sun. Twilight sighed and magically replaced the books where they belonged, then she attempted to shut the door but found it hanging off of only one hinge. She huffed angrily and went back to the sample, deciding to ask somepony to fix it later.

Myles locked himself up in his house and tried to cool down. He'd felt the door come loose and knew he'd let his anger get control of him. His first thought had been to go into the forest and let off some steam, but this had prompted a shudder when he remembered what he'd nearly done last time he'd gotten into a fight while in such a mood. He turned on the shower and stepped inside, letting the water flow over him as he calmed himself.

He had to keep control of himself. The cost of losing himself again was unthinkabl-

The _cost._

"_A price must be paid to protect these wild lands."_

Minutes later, a perplexed Pinkie Pie slips into Myles' house and turns the shower off, then follows a trail of water out his door and into the Everfree Forest.

"Of this you were previously warned,

These predictions you shouldn't have scorned."

"Oh, excuse me if these warnings were just a little cryptic. You just said there was a price, you didn't specify who was paying it or how much. So what happens if it goes unpaid?"

"This possibility is not your concern,

Some fates cannot be turned."

"So I don't get a choice, is that it? I'm just a part of this plan? What if I do something different, huh?"

"Of this fact I can assure you,

This is one thing you cannot do."

Myles snarls and turns away from the door of Zecora's shack, only to turn back and find it shut and the zebra nowhere in sight. He slams a hoof into a stone close to the base of tree and it cracks in half. Water drips from his mane and pools on the ground as he grits his teeth.

"Everypony keeps saying that… Everypony keeps telling me what I can't do! I keep telling them to stop because I'll try anyways. Not this time. This time I won't just try. This time I'll do it. YOU HEAR ME?! I WILL DO IT! I WILL SAVE ONE AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME! YOU JUST WATCH! WATCH ME!" Myles shouts at the suddenly quiet forest around him and turns to walk back home only to stop dead in his tracks as he spots Pinkie standing there.

"Why didn't you dry off?" She asks, tilting her head.

"You heard all of that?" Myles asked with his eyes wide.

Pinkie laughs, "I think everypony in the forest heard that. Now why are you all wet?"

Myles sighs, "I was showering…"

"I know that, I turned your shower off. Why didn't you?"

"I… I realized something…"

"What something is gonna cost you? What is it? Is it a present? WHO FOR!?"

"Relax, Pinkie! It's not a present… It's… something I have to do. Or something Zecora thinks I have to do. But I won't. I can't…" He finishes sadly.

"Why not?" Pinkie asks with a grin.

"Can you keep a secret, Pinkie?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

"Ummmm…. Right…."

"What? Do you not know what a Pinkie Promise is? Twilight didn't know either, but like I told her, losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend…. forever! You don't break a Pinkie Promise. Your secret's safe with me."

Myles chuckles, "What happens if you break a Pinkie Promise?" He flinches as he sees her suddenly stern expression.

"You **_DON'T _** break a Pinkie Promise," her smile returned as quickly as it vanished, "So what's the secret?"

"You know that giant starspider?"

"The Sunshine Titan? Yeah!"

"The star… whatever," Myles shakes his head (getting splashed with water from his mane, Pinkie does the same), "It's… it's in pain. It soaked up all that magic and it was never meant to be that big. It's basically panicking all the time."

"Oooooo," Pinkie frowned, "Whys that a secret? That's not a thing you do."

"I know," Myles frowns, "When I took this job… I… I knew I might have to… put some monsters down. But I always managed to avoid doing so."

"So? Just pick them up again!" Pinkie smiled gleefully.

"No… I mean," Myles frowns, "Remove them… permanently."

"What do you me- Ooooooooo. But you haven't done that," Pinkie patted him on the shoulder, "So what's the problem?"

"Because now … well Zecora said there was a price to protect this forest and… I think she wants me to kill the titan."

"And you don't want to do that," Pinkie nods.

"I think- no," Myles looks stern, "I know I can save it. It might be this huge terrifying thing that every animal fears but it's alive and I'm not going to slaughter it just because it's easy and some zebra thinks I'll do it without hesitating." He scowls and grits his teeth as he stares straight forward. "I will save one."

"Sounds great! You go Myles! Do what you want! Get that present!"

"There isn't a- never mind Pinkie… thanks for hearing me out."

"Okay, anytime!" Pinkie watches him gallop off, then shouts after him, "Are you going to Fluttershy's fashion show?"

Myles skids to a stop, "What?"

Pinkie pops out of the bush next to Myles, making him jump. "Fluttershy's fashion show, she's a model!"

Myles blinks, "When did this happen?"

Pinkie springs away with her trademark twangy noise, "Yesterday!"

Myles frowns and gallops back towards town.

Myles enters through the backstage door, hoping to get the answers straight from the pony's mouth, as it were. To his surprise, he instead sees Twilight standing behind the curtain. He peeks through a gap and sees Fluttershy spazaming wildy on stage and then pulls his goggles down. After confirming his suspicions that magic was involved, he followed the trail of energy back to it's source as an expression of shock crosses his face. He tackles Twilight to the ground as the crowd turns sour on the other side of the curtain.

"What are you doing?" Myles hisses at her as a strange expression crosses her face.

"Myles? Why are you even here?" She hisses back.

"Pinkie Pie told me Fluttershy was a model, so I came along to see what happened and I find you using her as a puppet! What's going on here?"

"Myles," Twilight actually looks a little sad, "I was sabotaging her modeling career."

"What? Why?"

"She wanted me to because-"

"FOREVER!"

Myles whirls around and glares at Pinkie Pie, who is hanging upside down from one of the sandbags.

"I'm sorry, Myles. I can't tell you why."

Myles frowns and looks at Pinkie and then Twilight. He was about to speak again when he heard clapping of hooves and the three of them looked around the curtain to see the crowd applauding Fluttershy. Myles shrugs and lets Twilight go, failing to notice her tense expression and her sigh of relief as he left.

Myles runs a small magical current through the array, making sure they are all linked in the proper direction. Then he makes sure the vacant storage crystals are in place and nods as he walks back to the tower. Everything was in place except for the spider itself.

He frowns at the platform in the middle of his tower and tunes into the crystals set into its base. He connects them to the crystals set into the sides of the first floor, then tries to hook them up to the second floor, grunting as they feed back and hurt his horn. He rubs his chin with a hoof as he thinks. Shaking his head, he sighs and gets ready to rework the system when his ears twitch.

He freezes and listens, holding his breath.

_Click. Click-Clack._

Myles charges downstairs and out his front door, ears twitching back and forth.

Silence.

He frowns and heads back inside. As he tunes into the frequency he hears the sound again. He stops tuning and listens carefully only to be met with silence again. He tunes up one set of crystals and leaves it running, keeping the elevator in place as he walks outside. His ears twitch as he hears a shuffling and clacking sound.

"So that's why you came to town… you can hear them too," Myles thought out loud as listens for the approaching steps, which steadily get louder as he speaks. "And that's why you were in the caves and hanging around the forest… you could hear my crystals because you're tuned into them. You must've heard the barrier go up when I fought the Ursa and just had a long walk. Every time you've shown up it's because you're after the things that are killing you. That's fine. Today they'll save you." Myles finishes as the familiar hairy stalk of a leg sinks into the ground in front of him.

Myles focuses on the array and tunes them into his horn. As the spider steps forward he tunes into the crystal set into the creature itself. He links the two and begins pulling energy from the spider into the massive array.

Myles throws his hooves over his ears as the spider releases what could only be described as an echoing squeal of pain. Without the unicorn's focus, the array shuts down and the spider shakes with rage as it charges forward and smacks Myles with a leg before he can get up. He tumbles down the street and growls as he gets to his hooves.

"Myles!"

He frowns deeply as his friends come running up the street, ready to support him. Twilight stops by his side to check his condition while Rainbow Dash flies forward at top speed and knocks one of the spider's legs out from under it, toppling the creature to the ground and cracking one of its legs. Applejack lassos its remaining mandible and yanks it sideways as it tries to stand, sending it off balance again. Rainbow comes around for another blow while Rarity and Twilight charge magic in their horns.

"WAIT!"

Rainbow stops in mid-air as she and the rest of the girls turn to look at him in disbelief. Rainbow looks back in time to dodge a hairy leg swung at her.

"Myles! What is it!"

"I won't let you kill it."

"What?!" Twilight shouts in disbelief, "This thing has almost killed you three times already and threatened the town just as many times! It has to be put down!"

"No it doesn't. Give me time and I can save it."

"Myles it's a monster!" Applejack calls as she strains to keep the spider off balance, "It's gotta be stopped!"

"And it will be," Myles speaks with a stern look on his face, "but the Starstone Titan won't die today."

"Myles do you hear yourself?!" Twilight calls as Rarity trades magical blasts with the spider, angering it and causing it to tug hard on the rope, lifting Applejack into the air and slamming her into Rainbow Dash. As the two ponies tumble aside, Twilight continues, "This thing is going to wipe out the town if we don't kill it!"

Myles grits his teeth as his heart pounds in his ears and everything around him slows to a crawl. Twilight releases a blast that cracks one of the spiders other legs and it screeches in pain as it charges after her. She runs past and dodges as Myles' mind races.

The starspider is saturated with magic, which is causing it pain as well as it's unusual size, but draining the magic seems to cause it even more pain. His array might do the job, but he'd rather kill it before making any creature endure that much agony. He had no time to come up with a new solution but he had to find a way to keep the creature alive through the process. His brow furrows and then his eyes widen as he realizes the spider is already in pain, so it potentially won't feel smaller injuries.

Twilight lands next to him and gets to her hooves. "Myles we need you to take this thing down!"

He focuses on her and she looks shocked at his stern expression. "No. I will save him. I promise."

"Myles you can't!"

"Watch me."

Myles steps forward and begins to tune his horn to the spider again.

"Myles! Step aside!"

He turns to see Twilight charging her horn again with a large amount of magic.

"NO!" he shouts as the beam lances towards the creature, he focuses instead on Twilight's bolt of magic and it curves in mid-air, striking him in the horn and funneling into the batteries.

Myles pants heavily as the magic is released.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"THIS PLACE HAS ENOUGH MONSTERS! I'M GETTING RID OF TWO MORE!"

"Two?"

Myles tunes into the crystals and blasts the excess magic skyward. The spider screeches at him and charges forward but freezes as he focuses on it. It squeals and shakes a bit but suddenly its legs steady and it falls silent. Magic pours forth from its abdomen and into Myles' horn, bouncing away to the battery crystal. The spider slowly begins to shrink, almost imperceptibly as it stands still. The arc of magic snaked over to the location of another battery and began to fill it as well. The rest of the girls gathered behind Myles, their eyes wide as the energy arcs to another battery and the spider continues to not only reduce in size, but remain still aside from shuffling its legs. As Myles' horn arcs to another battery the spider reduces to the size of a large pony and sweat beads on Myles' forehead. The spider shakes a bit as he arcs the magic to two battery crystals. Twilight gasps as Myles' nose begins to bleed again and she steps forward to stop him.

"NO!" Myles shouts without turning as he arcs to the last two batteries and the spider shrinks to the size of a rat. Myles' other nostril begins bleeding as well and he shakes as the spider shrinks to its original mouse like proportions. Myles releases the flow of magic and gasps for breath as he looks at the tiny creature before them.

The tiny starspider falls to the ground, its legs spread flat.

"No," Myles rushes forward and tries to kneel down in front of the spider but ends up falling on his belly as he examines it. The animal's mandibles clack weakly as the pony examines it with an expression of worry. The others gather around their friend and the now harmless monster they had been so eager to kill.

"Fluttershy?" Myles pleads with the yellow pegasus who had only recently vacated her hiding spot from behind an overturned cart.

She bends down at looks at the spider carefully before her expression sinks.

"I'm sorry Myles."

"No…."

"Yes," Fluttershy nods and suddenly her ears perk up as the spider makes clicking sounds.

"What's it-" Rainbow Dash is shushed as the others strain to listen.

"It says, 'Not prey.'"

"What?"

"Wait…. He also says 'not predator'…"

Silence falls aside from the clicking of mandibles. A few seconds later even this sound ceases.

"And 'not mate, but same'"

"What? What does that…

"Not prey, not predator, not mate, but same…" Twilight repeats curiously, trying to fathom the riddle.

"Myles," Fluttershy says as her lip quivers, "Spiders aren't very social creatures. Their language is simple, even for most animals, but…. I think he's talking about you."

"What?"

"He can't define you. You can't be his prey because you won't be devoured. You can't be a predator because you don't aim to kill him. You aren't his mate because you aren't even the same species. But you defended him when no one else would. So you are like a mate, but not quite."

Myles looks at the spider as his eyes water. Twilight gasps.

"Is it…. He…. Calling you a friend?"

Myles blinks as the first tear falls and the spider clicks weakly a few times before slumping flat and shuddering. Its legs curl inwards and it rolls over, wobbling a bit as it comes to a rest on its back, then stops moving altogether.

Fluttershy looks close to tears as well as she speaks, "He said… well… he said…."

She sniffs and Pinkie Pie places a hoof on her shoulder, "What?"

"'Thank you.'"

"NO!" Myles tries to rush forward and scoop the spider up but Twilight holds him down as Fluttershy carefully places the spider into a bit of cloth donated by Rarity.

"NO NO NO NO NO! HE'S ALIVE! HE HAS TO BE! I DID EVERYTHING! I FOUGHT EVERYTHING! HE'S NOT A MONSTER ANYMORE HE SHOULD BE FINE!"

"He is Myles," Twilight says sadly, "You saved him. But he's gone."

"NO! I DIDN'T KILL HIM! I DIDN'-"

"And no one will ever say you did, we all know how hard you tried…"

"I'm sorry Myles," Fluttershy speaks with an eerie calm, "but after all the injuries he sustained and the constant stress, he likely died of exhaustion…"

Myles stares at the ground.

"I promised…"

"You did all you cou-" Twilight begins but he pushes her away.

"No. He'd be alive if I had. I failed him."

"Myles…"

"If I had done things right he'd be alive right now…"

"Myles!"

"I failed him… this forest… this town… all of you…"

"Myles stop!"

"I …. I wasn't strong enough…"

"Myles I- Myles?!"

Twilight shouts as Myles slumps to the ground and falls unconscious once more.

**Okay. So first off, I'm sorry for the downer ending to this chapter, but Myles was overdue for a true failure. Sure he's been getting kicked around a lot but he's always come out on top in the end and if I wanted him to grow anymore he had to find out the hard way that he can't do everything himself.**

**The weird thing is… I don't feel bad… and it's not for the reasons you might think.**

**Anyway, yes there'll be some fallout from this so Myles can grow as a character. There will also be at least one major plot point before season one ends, but expect the rest of it to be pretty cheery to make up for this downturn in tone my story took during this arc.**

**Can't say much more without spoiling, just wanted to reassure you all that I do still want to make you guys laugh. Course that assumes I ever did in the first place. Hope you keep reading anyways.**

**Upon rewatching this episode I spotted something strange. I realize I may not be the first to draw this conclusion since season one is a few years old but…**

**Did Foto Phinish ever actually come to Ponyville?**

**Because this episode heavily features Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie and because its well written its easy to overlook the strange absence of a few other ponies, even if they're your favorite. But at the same time… its really unusual to not hear anything at all from Rainbow Dash. The established prankster. Who happens to be light blue.**

**The same light blue as Foto Phinish. The heavily and comically accented fashion designer who acts pretty ridiculous. Who always wears a coat that obscures her back. And large sunglasses with a long enough haircut to cover up … say… some more brightly colored and shorter hair. And would easily have access to some extra hair dye once her band of followers arrived, likely believing that they got left behind because of her busy schedule and who wouldn't even notice if she looked just a little different.**

**She makes an appearance in a later season briefly, but doesn't do much and looks exactly the same. So if she wears the same outfit constantly it'd be pretty well known.**

**Honestly the only thing missing is a scene containing Rainbow Dash snickering in the background near the end of the episode.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	21. Book 1- Ch 21

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Over a Barrel or An Oasis of Sorrow

_"__I failed him… this forest… this town… all of you…"_

"Myles?"

_"__Is he awake yet?"_

_ "__Twi, ah told ya ah'd let you know as soon as-"_

_ "__Then look behind you."_

_ "__Whadda ya mea- oh… he's awake Twilahght."_

_Twilight Sparkle and Applejack gaze worriedly at the stallion lying in the hospital bed. He was pale and stared straight ahead, not blinking as a hoof was waved in front of him._

_ "__Not like ya can tell the difference."_

_ "__Hush Applejack."_

_ "__Just sayin, Twi, he'll get better when he does. It wont happen any faster because you kept bugging him."_

_ "__Applejack-"_

_ "__Promised…"_

_The two ponies spun around to face the one in the bed as he mumbled, looking to each other with concerned expressions._

"Myles?"

_The darkness closed in again._

_ "__Tired of trying…"_

_ "__This hurts more…"_

_ "__Watch me…"_

_ "__Another time…"_

_ "__You bucking beautiful genius!"_

_ "__I will save one!"_

_ "__I'm am not your lab rat!"_

_ "__Another time."_

_ "__Not while I breathe."_

_ "__I can handle this."_

_ "__Another time."_

_ "__You keep saying I'm strong…"_

_ "__Another time."_

_ "__ENOUGH!" Myles shouts at the darkness and everything goes silent. "I thought we were done with this."_

_ "__You must-"_

_ "__If I have to listen to another speech about something I must do for reasons you aren't going to explain, I'm gonna start listening to DJ Pon3 until I go deaf."_

_ "__We only want to help."_

_ "__You've helped plenty."_

_ "__I know this is-"_

_ "__You really don't. So don't even pretend. Just go."_

"Myles!"

Myles' eyes snap open as he is poked with a hoof.

"Myles! A bunch of buffalo stole Applejack's tree-"

"Bloomberg."

"-And Spike and we haven't seen Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie!"

"Are we here then?"

Twilight and Applejack blink in confusion, "Well, yes… but-"

Twilight falls silent as Myles gets down from the bunk in the train and walks outside to stretch his legs.

"They need-"

"No help at all. Celestia couldn't catch those two, I'm not worried about a herd of buffalo."

The others stare in disbelief as he heads to the Salt Block and his horn lights up. He pours himself a glass of water and sets a couple of bits on the counter. The bartender gives him a strange look but quickly takes the money and moves on when he sees Myles' expression.

"Leave him be," Applejack said as another pony ran up to greet them, "We need tah worry bout Rainbow and Pinkie right now."

_"__This possibility is not your concern,_

_Some fates cannot be turned._

_Of this fact I can assure you,_

_This is one thing you cannot do."_

"Buck off," Myles says without looking as a gruff country stallion grins at him.

"Awful temper you got there, city pony. Tongue like that might get a fella into trouble around here."

"It might. So clear off then."

"I don't like your tone, colt."

Myles eyes narrow.

A gruff country stallion is propelled through the saloon doors, flying until he hits the building opposite. Moments later, Myles walks out of the bar amidst amazed whispers.

"Did y'all see that?"

"How in tarnation would I have missed that?"

"What? What? I was in the john!"

"Some grumpy lookin' city pony just tossed Wagon Winch out on his keister!"

"You're pullin' mah leg."

"Am not! Just see for yaself!"

Myles huffed as he walked through the desert, not really paying attention until he felt the ground shake. He looks up in mild disinterest as he is quickly surrounded by buffalo.

"Lost a few friends out here."

The buffalo snort in his face, blowing his mane back as they press in, threatening to crush him.

Myles blinks.

"You know where they are or not? Don't feel like wasting any time."

"…Myles?"

He turns around to face the pegasus who said his name as the buffalo flinch at his movement.

"Oh. Hey Rainbow."

"That's the most threatening I've heard you sound since…" She falls silent as his expression sinks, "Nevermind. C'mon, we found Spike."

He follows in silence as he is led to the camp and sits next to the fire. He nods at Spike and doesn't react at all as Pinkie Pie pulls him into a tight hug. Rainbow's eyes widen as she looks just to the side of Myles.

"Uhhhh… Myles…"

"Mmm?" Myles barely acknowledges her or even reacts when her eyes widen further and she glances farther to the side.

"Uh… Nothing…It's fine."

"Mmm," he lays down as he hears the others talk with the buffalo, sounding serious about something. He tunes them out and soon falls asleep.

_"__I was going to save one."_

_ "__WE NEED SAVING!"_

_ "__Fluttershy's a model."_

_ "__When did that happen?"_

_ "__Yesterday."_

_ "__Do I look like I'm dying?!"_

"Sleeping Bear, you must wake."

"Muh?" Myles blinks as he looks up at a buffalo who flinches as Myles meets his gaze.

"You must wake."

"What did you call me?"

"S-sleeping Bear."

"Thasnot my name."

"It is the name some of the others called you, I thought it was yours. Please forgive me."

"Its fine. Just… weird, that's all."

Myles follows in a daze as his friends are escorted back to town, where more serious discussion is had and goes over Myles' head. His eyelid twitches as he registers Pinkie Pie singing a particularly annoying song, but otherwise he remains unaware.

"Myles! The Apploosians and the Buffalo are going to go to war! Snap out of it!"

"Why? Even if we stopped them both it would change nothing."

"Is that the way you think now? That everything is pointless?"

"No. Just fighting the inevitable."

"Since when do you believe anything is inevitable?"

"Since I saw it happen, Twilight."

"I don't believe you! You can't just give up!"

"No Twilight, in order to give up you have to try first. I'm not bothering."

"Look around you Myles! They need your help!"

Myles glances around and blinks. "Who does?"

"The Apploosians!"

"They're ready to fight. Dunno why they're using pies, but who am I to judge?"

"Here they come!"

Myles watched as the entire herd of buffalo charged down the hill and were met with flying pies. Members of both sides fell but the fighting continued until the chief buffalo was struck in the face with a pie. Myles saw everything grind to a halt and the chieftan smile and make a declaration. He merely sighed and went to the train station, sensing things coming to a close. Later on he got back into his bunk after the train arrived and rode home with his friends.

Partway through the trip, Rainbow Dash prods Twilight awake.

"Huh? What do you ne-"

She is silenced as Rainbow places a hoof over her mouth and pulls her into the next train car. Fluttershy returns from the bathroom to see their tails retreating through the door.

"What is it Rainbow Dash?

"I need to talk to you," she says in a hushed voice.

"We could have talked in the car."

"I needed to talk to you and be sure that somepony wasn't listening."

"Everypony's aslee-"

"Somepony with ridiculously good hearing!" she hisses.

"What about Myl-"

"Shhhh!" Rainbow hushes her anxiously, "Don't say his name! It might wake him up and I don't…. I don't think he needs to hear this."

"Hear what?"

"When he came to the buffalo camp looking for us, he was almost cat ton ick, like last time."

"Catatonic."

"Right, whatever," Rainbow waved her hoof dismissively, "But while we were there this huge snake creeped up to the fire. I spotted it and tried to warn Myles without making him panic, but as soon as he responded…. Well…"

"What?"

"It ran!"

"What? The snake? Snakes don't have le-"

"I know that, okay? I've seen snakes slither before but I have never seen one move this fast!"

"How did Myles not get bitten then?"

"No, you don't get it, it was running away!"

"What?"

"It slithered full-tilt away from Myles like he was a manticore with insomnia!"

"…Why would it…"

"Um…." They turned to a small voice from the door, "I…. I might be able to help answer that…I think."

**First. Let me apologize for the short chapter. I wanted to have Myles break out of his funk this chapter, but I couldn't do it without completely reworking or even just slightly changing the ending. **

**Second. Lets talk about the end of this episode. The buffalo and Apploosians go to war. With pies. This actually happens. Granted the buffalo do seem ready to trample the town, but they don't get very far and the only thing in their way seems to be being hit by pies, which incapacitates them somehow. Then the chieftan gets hit in slow motion and everyone stops and tears up. And from the very first time I saw this episode I am just waiting for Twilight Sparkle to look confused and remind everyone of the obvious fact that they're ****_just pies._**** And then of course the whole punch line is that the situation is resolved because the chief tastes some of the pies and decides he likes them. Thing is, this entire situation wouldn't feel tense at all if everypony wasn't treating it like a horrible battle. The last funny thing that happens is Pinkie's song setting off the herd, but from there till the pie hitting the chiefs tongue its treated like a horrible battle.**

**And that's the only reason any of it works. The buffalo aren't effective at smashing anything and no one's getting killed by a pie, but I didn't realize until I was faced with possibly having Myles intervene that as stupid as this is from an objective standpoint, it works in the story because the story never treats it like a joke until the punchline hits. I'm honestly considering going back and removing the line where Myles mentions they're using pies, but since I don't recreate the battle itself it's not necessary to keep the same tension.**

**Now if you'll excuse me, I have to figure out how to make Myles himself again before seasons end while still revealing that plot point that is probably obvious to even more of you now.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	22. Book 1- Ch 22

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

A Bird in the Hoof or A Job Well Undone

Myles ambles up to the door of Sugarcube Corner and frowns as the twin pegasai throw their wings out to block him.

"Halt!" one of them demands.

"Who goes there?" the other finishes.

"I do."

"Who are you?"

"I'm me."

"We need your name, to see if you're on the list."

"Oh I'm on there."

"We need to know who you are to-"

"I told you, I'm me."

"Without your name we can't-"

"What's going on out here?"

The guards stand at attention as Princess Celestia stick her head through the window.

"Let Myles in."

"Yes, your majesty, he simply failed to- hey!"

"You heard her, lemme through," Myles ducks under the pegasus' wings and makes his way inside, smiling faintly.

"Hey Myles!"

Myles expression immediately sinks to one of exhaustion and sadness as his friends greet him. Twilight looks a little offended.

"Weren't you just…?"

Applejack nudges her to stop as Myles goes to sit at the table. He begins to eat with a neutral expression until he grits his teeth as he is addressed by the Alicorn in the room.

"So Myles, it has been a long time since we spoke face to face, and evidently your life has gotten much more exciting of late."

"Technically yes," Myles answers gloomily.

"You're doing much better than last time, research advancing in leaps and bounds, good friends, a new house and even a little romance on the side, I hear."

"Yeah it's all…wait what!?"

Celestia chuckles, "Just checking to see if you were listening. You seem distracted Myles, what's wrong?"

He snorts, "Nothing. The town is safe. Everything's fine."

She raises an eyebrow, "Nothing of interest? No new crystal spells?"

He shakes his head.

"Any strange dreams?"

He turns and his eyes narrow as he looks at her. "Why bother asking _me?_"

"Because you're the one who said he'd find out what was going on even if my sister said he shouldn't."

"Yeah, and then somepony else said I shouldn't and your sister and he kicked me out."

"And you've let that stop you?"

"I've been a little busy lately."

"I thought you said things were going well."

"They are, the town is safe. I've done my job as best I can."

"And you've performed admirably, which is why… excuse me." She leans over to talk to a guard. "Oh really? Well, if I must. I'm sorry everypony, but the mayor has requested an audience, royal duty calls. Myles, please come with me."

Myles sighed and followed her to the Mayor's office. The Mayor gave him a strange glance as she began.

"I'm glad you're both here. I know that when Mr. Shradsool…" she waits to be interrupted but bites her lip as she isn't, then continues, "was stationed here, I had my… reservations about his assignment. I was … particularly vocal on my disapproval of his assignment." She glances nervously at Myles as he snorts. "But since then Myles has proven himself more than capable of the position. He… never ceases to surprise me. As of late he has been… distracted… and I grow concerned that he may not be up to the task of-"

"Look out the window."

"I don't see why…"

"Is Ponyville still there?"

"Yes I- Hey!"

The princess shakes her head as the door swings shut and she smiles at the mayor. "I think he's still perfectly capable. He'll still do his job, but it may be a while before he's back to his old self."

"I hope you're right, your highness," the mayor sighs, "but you always are anyways."

"Nopony's always right," Celestia says as she watches him leave through the window, "But Myles is dependable, that much I know."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because he has to be."

Celestia leaves the mayor in confusion as she makes her way back to the party.

Myles sits at the crystal forge, trying to think of something he hasn't yet, but finding he can't even remember the last thing he tried. Had it really been so long since he did some research? It felt like years had passed and yet he had known Twilight Sparkle for only a few months now. He blinks as he hears a ringing noise and inspects the crystal on the anvil before releasing the sound is coming from his forehoof.

He sighs and makes his way upstairs as he taps the crystal to display the barrier, he frowns at the strange shape and vaguely recalls that he had been working on the elevator last time. That had lured the starspider and then…. He shook his head, still not wanting to think about what had happened.

He hadn't been that attached to the spider itself, he honestly felt more attachment to the manticore. The fact that the spider had essentially thanked him merely felt like salt on the wound. He had promised to save the creature and he had failed. What's more, he had played right into Zecora's prophecy and now wondered if he'd ever really accomplished anything. Or perhaps he had just played his part in this awful plan for his life. He wondered if there was even anything left for him, perhaps the important things had been done already and he would now linger until he faded to nothing.

Myles shakes his head as he steps outside and spots the source of the alert. He blinks in confusion at the strange sight in front of him.

A familiar timberwolf with a broken snout whines and snaps at a cloud of parasprites that nip at its legs and ankles. He frowns and forms a barrier around the timberwolf with his magic, grunting a bit as he feels the strain. The parasprites flinch as they bite into the barrier and their attention turns to him. A lone parasprite rushes towards him and he turns and bucks it with his rear hooves into a nearby tree. His eyes widen as it splatters over the trunk. The rest of the sprites see this and flee back into the forest as the timberwolf turns to him.

Myles is still reeling from having accidentally killed a parasprite when he realizes the wolf is standing completely still. He is lowered on his front feet, almost appearing to bow. Myles frowns.

"Just go," he sighs in frustration, "I don't want your thanks, or anyone else's for that matter."

The timberwolf tilts his head curiously and then bounds into the forest. He shrugs and makes his way back into the house, wondering vaguely where the parasprites came from and why the one had exploded when it struck the tree. The ones that had attacked town before had been ridiculously durable for their size. He sighs and decides to ask Twilight only to be surprised to see her and Fluttershy running down the street. They spot him and gallop towards him, skidding to a stop in front of him. Fluttershy looks around frantically.

"Hey Myles!"

"Hey Twilight, Fluttershy," He nods at them both and turns back to Twilight, "I was won-"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Twilight says hurriedly, "Have you seen a bird around? One with very few feathers and coughing a lot?"

Myles blinks and shakes his head, "Sorry no, no birds at all today. But just a minute ago there were these parasprites-"

"Parasprites! Oh no! This just keeps getting worse!"

Myles holds up a hoof to calm her down, "Relax! I took care of it! But I have a ques-"

Twilight interrupts him a third time by pulling him into a hug.

"You're a lifesaver Myles!"

"Actually," Myles looks a little ashamed, "I think I just killed a parasprite."

"Well that's-… wait…. What?"

For the first time Myles feels like he truly has Twilight's attention and even Fluttershy stops searching for a moment to give him her full focus.

"Uh… I killed a parasprite," he glances between them nervously, "I didn't mean to, but they were surrounding this timberwolf so I shielded it and got their attention. One charged at me and I kicked it. It hit a tree and just … splattered. But I remember trying something similar when Ponyville was infested and it didn't work."

The other two stand aghast at him. Twilight shakes her head and feigns nonchalance, "I think I read somewhere that when a parasprite eats too much and doesn't split in time they get really fragile and can burst like a tick."

"Oh," Myles nods grimly, "Alright. Thanks Twilight. I'll let you know if I see any birds."

"What happened to the timberwolf?"

"Huh?" Myles turns back from walking towards his tower, "Oh. He left. Guess he was just trying to get away from the sprites."

The girls share a strange look as they watch him return to his home.

"But… why would it have come all the way to town?"

"And alone? I don't think I've ever seen one stray from its pack for very long."

"Gah! Never mind that! We have to find Philamena! She can't be around here, if she'd gone into Everyfree, Myles would have seen her on the alert system!"

The two run off in search of their objective, forgetting the strange revelation for now.

Deep in Everfree forest, a timberwolf returns to his pack. The pack sniffs him curiously, having resigned themselves to the fact that he was a goner and reacting in surprise to see him again.

**Sorry again for the short chapter. It was gonna be slightly longer and have another reveal at the end, but I decided it was too soon for that.**

**Episode is kinda fun, but its all Fluttershy and Twilight. Myles wouldn't have fit in much anyway. No strange comments about the episode itself, other than the first blatant case of Trollestia in the series. And I love that Celestia's entire entourage of TWO guards are forced to search for her pet. And they do this together, presumably by going door to door and asking about the bird instead of just looking for it. Mayyyybe they only talked to Twilight personally, but they stay together when they could split up to find the bird. Let's also not forget that during this time the Princess herself is left entirely unguarded.**

**Not that I think for a second she needs one in the first place. **

**Excuse me, I gotta do the next chapter. Luckily I have something for this one. We'll see how big it turns out to be.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	23. Book 1- Ch 23

**I don't own My Little Pony. **

The Cutie Mark Chronicles or Inevitable Thunder

"What is it, Rainbow?"

"Okay, you need to stop doing that."

"Then maybe you should knock on doors like they're doors instead of a like a drum kit when it's time for your solo."

"Nice. How're you?"

Myles sighs and rolls his eyes at the pegasus.

"I'm fine. What do you really want?"

"I'm not allowed to check and see how my best buddy in the whole wide wor-"

"Dash."

"IwannagotoGhastlyGorge!" Rainbow finishes in one breath.

"No," Myles says flatly.

"Pllllleeeaaaase! C'mon! You used to let me go all I wanted to!"

"That was before!"

"I was always fine! It's not like anything has changed since…" She trails off at the look on Myles face, which wavers between stern resistance and sadness as he watches Rainbow Dash flounder her words upon realizing what she was about to say.

"Come with me," Rainbow suddenly suggests.

"What?"

"Come with me! We'll hang out there it'll be fun c'mon!"

"No! Rainbow its too dangero-"

"How do you keep a straight face while you say that?"

"Rai-"

"Seriously, what in that forest could possibly take either of us? We're the two baddest ponies around!"

He frowns, "I have no idea and to be honest I'd rather not find out."

"I cannot believe that after how much you've done you're just gonna sit there in your tower and sulk over some stupid spider!"

Rainbow's eyes widen as she finds herself pinned to the ground a few feet away. She glances up at Myles' expression of strained anger and her mouth drops open.

"Don't."

"Sorry Myles, but its true, you need to move on!"

"To what?!"

"To… sorry, can we have this conversation standing up? I'm afraid if someone sees us like this I'll lose my bet with Rarity."

Myles seems to realize his position for the first time as he steps back and lets her up.

"Rarity bet against me and Twilight being together?"

"No, no, that'd be messed up. She bet ….wait… sorry, can't tell you. Anyway, you need to move on to your life! Get back to stuff! You made a mistake! It happens to all of us!"

"That's not it, Dash!" Myles frowns, "It's because I got locked up in Zecora's stupid prediction! Nothing I do matters! If everything is decided before hoof, why should I bother?"

"Since when do you accept that anything controls you!?"

"Since I got slapped in the face with proof!"

"Zecora's wise and all, maybe she just saw where things were going, she didn't necessarily see the future!"

"No that's what I always thought before! The prediction came true even when I did everything I could to prevent it!"

"You made a mistake! That's fine! It doesn't mean you're powerless!"

"It's not just that!"

"What is it then?!"

"I FAILED AGAIN!"

"Again?"

Myles pants heavily, frozen in place as he realizes what he's just said.

"Myles? What do you mean…"

"Never mind," he sighs as he heads back towards the house but is cut off by Rainbow Dash.

"No!" She shouts, "You've kept us all in the dark long enough! Talk!"

Myles frowns, "No."

Rainbow's eyes narrow, "I'm not giving up on you."

He blinks, "Uh…. Thanks I gu- HEY!"

Myles raises a hoof but is too late to stop the rainbow colored streak that zips through the barrier, setting off the alarm and disappearing into the woods. He scowls and gallops into the woods after it.

Rainbow makes an easy trail to follow, ripping branches and bark loose from trees as her shockwave passes and making hundreds of small animals flee in every direction radiating from her path. Myles is unsurprised to see the trail end at the beginning of Ghastly Gorge and sighs as he carefully makes his way down the slope into the treacherous trench.

His eyes widen as he slips and rolls the last few feet to the bottom and a cloud of creatures takes flight at his presence. He readies himself to fight as he examines part of the cloud and realizes it is an enormous cloud of parasprites, then blinks in confusion as the cloud panics and streaks away from him in fear. As they gain height a massive shape lunges out of the cliff side and its jaws close around the cloud before retreating into the rock. The survivors flee to the other side of the canyon only to be snapped up by another of the creatures. The few remaining parasprites scatter and dive into cracks in the cliff to hide from the predators.

"Coray Eels," Myles mutters, "Huh, guess they have to eat something. Wouldn't have called parasprites though."

He shrugs and begins to trot calmly down the canyon, ignoring the large, cold eyes following him as he passes on the ground and eyeing the groups of parasprites hiding in the rocks and fluttering away as he approaches. He glances up at the holes in the cliff.

"Seems like you guys would have a lot easier time getting food if you set up shop down further, so what's stopping yo-"

He is cut off as an object collides with him at high speeds and both he and the pegasus roll several times before coming to a stop. He shakes his head and looks up as Rainbow untangles herself and gets off of him, her eyes widening as she sees him.

"Myles! We gotta get out of here! It was right behind me!"

"Since when can anything keep pace with you?" Myles asks jokingly before he looks up and his smile fades.

"Not so much a matter of speed as…"

"Size and quantity, right," Myles finishes for her.

"C'mon!" Rainbow begins to pull him along before the monster snatches her tail. She drags Myles with her for a bit before the jaws holding her lift her up and throw her skyward. Another set of jaws close around her with a deafening snap.

Myles stands there aghast as he watches the writhing mass of heads and necks before him, already losing track of which one swallowed Rainbow and swallowing nervously himself.

"Buck."

No less than seventeen heads whip around and their eyes narrow as they focus on the small pony and roar. A few dozen other heads continue their raging battle with a pair of Coray Eels, dragging one screeching from its home and descending upon it like barracudas. He spots a few other skeletons protruding from empty caves as one of the eels snaps off a head and immediately the neck begins splitting and swelling into two more bulbous growths.

In seconds, the stump is now ended with another pair of hydra heads.

Myles rolls backwards and begins dodging as the heads who have targeted him snap and fight for the tiny morsel. He grits his teeth and lands on a neck, running along the long scaly muscle as he thinks desperately. Rainbow was still alive, he knew that much. He had survived inside a hydra and judging by the amount of heads and necks it may be over an hour before she gets anywhere near one of the creature's stomachs. The main danger lay in her being crushed inside the creature's throat during the fighting or bitten in half as one of the eels snapped at them. He had no idea how long this fight had been raging, but he had to end it fast.

He dodges and weaves as he leaps from neck to neck, jaws snapping shut just behind him and several necks getting tangled. He frantically searches for any opening and any clue for Rainbow's whereabouts. He gasps as the world goes dark and a deafening snap echoes around him, disorienting him for a few moments. His eyes adjust right as the hydra's tongue tries to push him back. He briefly considers waiting and trying to meet up with Rainbow closer to the stomach, but this thought is crushed as the tongue presses him against the teeth, trying to chew him. He silently hopes Rainbow was swallowed whole before kicking back with his hooves. The tongue redoubles and pushes harder, making him snarl in frustration.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!"

He shouts as his horn glows with blinding light. The hydra looks worried for a brief second before its head swells and explodes outwards in a ball of magical fire. Myles stands atop the stump of its throat as every head of the creature stops and turns towards him. He shifts as the stump splits and regrows and the two new heads focus on him as well. Every last head roars in protest and Myles begins to feel dizzy from the cacophony assaulting him. He squeezes his eyes shut in pain at the sound. His eyes snap open again as he hears another shout.

"-ot! Gonna-…..-at me!...SWALLOW THI- ….YA BIG SNAKE!"

Myles ears twitch and everything slows down as he zeroes in on the sound and spots one hydra head with an uncomfortable expression on its face as its neck bounces and jolts around like its being forcefully hit from the inside. The distance between him and the hydra head in question seems to expand as his vision tunnels around the object of his focus and time comes rushing back to normal speed. He leaps forward and kicks off of several heads as the majority of them rush towards his former location and slam into each other. He bounds off several of them until he lands atop the neck that is being impacted from inside. The neck bulges in a spot a few meters away and he fires a magical blast towards the neck a short distance ahead of the bulge, burning through the stalk and opening up the tunnel. Rainbow comes bursting out and spots Myles. She quickly dives and scoops him up before launching skywards away from the multitude of snapping jaws.

"Rainbow look out!" Myles shouts as he swivels in her hooves and blasts a Coray Eel that had left its home to snap at them. She barely keeps hold of him as she weaves between more eels and he blasts any that get too close. After a minute they hover above the canyon, both of them panting with the effort of their flight and Myles' nose streaming blood.

"That was close," Rainbow gasps, "Thanks for saving my feathers down there. Myles?"

Myles gazes downwards as the battle below them rages on, the hydra returning their attention to the eels that continue to snap at its many heads. As he watches, a few more heads are snapped off and begin to regrow into two more each. The new heads attack with renewed vigor and they drag another pair of eels from their homes as the creatures squeal in desperation.

Myles blinks as sees the scene below him begin to move. He looks up at Rainbow Dash to see her straining to get them both to the ledge.

"No! We can't!"

"WHAT?!" Rainbow actually stops flapping her wings in surprise and they drop a few feet before she catches them again, flapping harder to keep them aloft, "You can't be serious! What was that earlier about not wanting to know what could….urrrrrghhhh… take us out? We have to go!"

"Rainbow! Look!"

The new heads are snapped off by one of the eels higher up in the cliff face and the new heads grow higher and longer necks to reach the new threat. They are quickly snapped off several times, forming a new layer of taller necked hydra heads that begin viciously attacking the higher eels.

"This is gonna keep going! The only thing holding it up are the eels and they wont last much longer!"

"So!? You'rrrrrrrrrrgghhhhhhh… not gonna save this one arrrrrrre ya!?"

Myles looks down at the writhing mass and frowns.

"No," he shake his head, "It's too late for that. I'll do what I have to."

"WHAT?! How're you gonna take that thing out?!"

"You let me worry about that!"

"You can't!"

He grins and looks up at her, "Don't tell me what I can't do!"

"Myles you've lost i- woah! HEY WAIT!"

Rainbow fumbles as he pushes her hooves aside and forces her to let go. She begins to dive but is blown backwards by weak blast of magic, blunted so she wouldn't be hurt. She shakes her head and regains her senses in time to see Myles plummeting face first into the writhing mass of hydra before she can react.

"MYLES NO!"

The necks and wildly snapping jaws close around him and Rainbow pants heavily, unsure of what to do. She drifts over and lands on the cliff's edge.

"You'd better come out of there, Myles," she swallows, "cause if you don't stop this…. I have no idea what we'll do."

Myles is enveloped in darkness as the hydra closes around him. He lights his horn and reveals the rapidly shifting muscle all around him as it closes in. He blasts a few holes to back the walls of scales up but they quickly regrow and form heads that lunge towards him. He dodges and runs along them, blasting downwards and effectively digging his way through more and more jaws as he tried to reach the creature's body. Jaws closed around him and he detonated a magical blast to free himself, ignoring the new heads as he drilled down. A head from the new hole lunges forward and swallows him. Once inside, the creature's tongue slaps him against the roof of its mouth, knocking the air out of the pony's lungs then making his vision spin and go dark.

The unconscious pony is pulled down the new throat, slowly pushed towards his doom.

Myles shakes his head and rubs it with a hoof as he comes to. His eyes snap open as he hears a familiar humming tone.

"What?"

He whirls around to see a brown earth pony with a slightly darker brown mane holding a strange device up to one of the crystals. He is quickly tackled to the ground as Myles recognizes the Trottingham accent.

"What?!"

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!"

"WHAT?!"

Myles groans and kicks the pony aside, noting the strange cutie mark on his flank, that of an hourglass. The sand seemed to move as he looked at it. Myles shook his head and turned to the crystal the pony had been working on, tuning into its frequency.

"No! It needs to stay locked!"

"WHY?! Cause of some plan you won't tell me until 'ANOTHER TIME?'" Myles scowls as he begins to tune the crystal, wincing as he tries to focus on the first three crystals. He slams his hooves over his ears as a high pitched mechanical whistling hit him, causing him a sharp pain in both ears.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sor-"

"WHAT THE BUCK DID I EVER DO TO YOU!?"

"Nothing! Well, that's debatable I suppose, there was that one time you-"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO-"

"Whooves, actually, but it's a common mistake, although this is the first time I've heard you make it, which means I just told you my name, didn't I? Hope that doesn't backfi-"

"I AM DYING!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic."

The earth pony reels as a hoof impacts his face.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW?! DO YOU EVEN PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT HAPPENS TO ME OUT THERE?!"

The earth pony wipes away the trail of blood from his mouth and nods, "Yes, actually. Been paying very close attention."

"THEN WHY WON'T YOU LET ME HAVE MORE POWER?!"

"Because you need to learn that it isn't about power. And because if I give you that power, it will instantly be used against you and everypony you love."

"I WOULD NEV-"

"Of course you wouldn't, it's not you that concerns me. But … I can't explain, you have to get back out there! You're running out of time!"

"I won't be able to take the hydra down without more magic!"

"You don't need the amount you have! We've already been put in danger! You have to think about the problem in a different way! Like last time!"

"Last time?!"

"I can't tell you anymore! Just go with your next idea!" The earth pony levels the device at Myles and he sees the room around him bathed in light.

"Next time we meet I want answers Mister Wh-"

"It's Doctor, for future reference. Doctor Whoov-"

Everything goes silent.

Myles gasps as he feels himself slide down a slimy tube and begins to scrabble up. Hooking a leg around the uvula, he squeezes it tight to avoid plunging down and becoming…

He shakes his head and ends that line of thought before he acknowledges where he is, focusing instead on how to escape and end this monster for good.

He couldn't blast holes in it, since it would keep growing larger and more dangerous, even on the inside. He couldn't possibly destroy it all at once, he felt exhausted and his nose already streamed his own blood with every beat of his heart. He can't depend on the Coray Eels, for all he knew they were all dead already. He couldn't shrink it from the inside…

He gasps again as the walls of the throat squeeze against him.

He couldn't just kick it out, Rainbow had tried that. The beast wasn't conforming to a specific shape anymore so the canyon wouldn't contain it. In its enraged state it had already begun to attack itself, meaning it would keep spreading until it consumed Everyfree Forest, Ponyville and everything beyond that.

Myles snarls as the walls squeeze tighter, he presses them back with his other hooves.

He had nothing. No. There were plenty of dangerous things in this gorge, that's why it was given its name. One of them must be useful. He thought rapidly through everything he saw in the gorge.

Coray Eels. Thick brambles and thorny vines. Unstable rocks. Various caves. Parasprites.

Myles' eyes widened.

There it was, the one thing he needed that could equalize the threat he was facing, but now he needed a way to harness it. The only way he had seen it done previously was…

"A one pony band," he grits his teeth in frustration and then smiles as he realizes something else, "Or just something that SOUNDS like one!"

He pulls down his goggles and toggles them to show crystal resonances. He grins as he spots one that shines through the bottom of the organic walls around him. It was massive and all one solid piece. He growls as he tunes into its frequency, trying to ignore the slimy liquid now flowing around his body and being joined by another fluid from his nose. His head spins and he almost passes out as he tilts his head up to keep his nose and mouth above the rising tide of his impending demise. He locks in and strains to remember.

He forms an image of a bright pink pony with an array of instruments attached to her body, playing them all at once. The image fades as the sound becomes clearer and louder. He focuses on the sounds and forces them to the crystal as he inhales deeply, his nose being covered as the chamber fills with liquid and presses harder.

Rainbow pulls at her ears, anxious to see any sign of Myles. The hydra had turned on itself and begun to bite and snap at the other heads. She had thought Myles had put a plan into action to make it stop but soon after the creature writhed even more furiously than before, tearing down a few eels who had let their guards' drop. She watched as the creature kept growing and regained its normal speed and vigor. She shakes her head.

"No no! C'mon! NO!" She lays down with her hooves over her head as her eyes begin to water, "He's gone. And it's my fault. The others'll never forgive m-huh?"

She blinks as what appears to be fluffy clouds pour from the cracks in the cliffs, the base of the gorge and even from the forest, flying over her head and pouring into the gorge towards the hydra. Rainbow looks even more confused as she feels the ground shake with what is unmistakably a drum beat. The sound is quickly joined by several other instruments to form a familiar and bouncy marching tune, like for a carnival.

Something bounces off her head and she picks it up from the ground. The parasprite opens its eyes and spreads its wings as Rainbow drops it in surprise. It rejoins the cloud that descends into the canyon. The hydra roars, not with rage, but with terror as every inch of its incredible mass is covered by parasprites. Squeaking and grinding of mandibles are heard as the wildy flailing hydra shrinks under the onslaught of tiny, hungry mouths. Slowly, the cloud shrinks more and more as the mass beneath it stops moving and falls silent. The cloud reaches the ground beneath the beast and the music suddenly stops.

The parasprites blink in confusion and flee upwards, the massive swarm dodging as over half of them are consumed by surviving Coray Eels. Tiny eels in smaller caves snap out and gorge themselves on their first meal they caught themselves. The cloud is reduced to a few groups of strays that quickly zip into hiding.

Rainbow looks down where the hydra was to see a clear sticky fluid covering the ground with a few sickly lumps here and there. She dives down and hovers over the mess, landing in front of a mound of sticky fluid with a blurry blue shape inside and poking it with a hoof.

"Myles? MYLES?!

She backs up as the mounds moves with a squelch. Ears spring up and the entire pile rises a bit before shaking violently. Myles wipes the fluid off of his face.

"Euughhhh! That's… that's just nasty…."

He gasps as he is tackled back into the fluid by Rainbow Dash.

"HA! I KNEW THAT OVERGROWN LIZARD COULDN'T BEAT YOU! WAHOOOOOOOOOOooooooo….ew…. what… what is this stuff?"

Myles wipes the mysterious substance off himself again, "Honestly? It's probably a lot of things, but I think the main ingredients are hydra and parasprite spit."

"Ugh!"

"Yeah…."

"Listen, Myles," Rainbow rubs her neck, "I'm so-"

"It's fine… let's just," he sighs, "Fly me out of this canyon and don't tell the others and we'll call it even."

Rainbow nods sheepishly and hooks her forelegs under his shoulders to lift him up and fly them to the start of the gorge. She sets him down and lands next to them as they both begin walking home.

"So…. Just gotta say it."

"Say what?"

"That was awesome. And radical," Rainbow frowns, "But I'm sorry you had to kill something…"

"It's fine Rainbow," he smiles, "I would have had to anyway and…"

"Annnnnnnd….?"

He sighs again, "It …. Was kinda nice to be doing something again. Even if it was fighting for my life. Or my friend's life."

"Ha! See! My plan worked!"

"You did _not_ plan that."

"I mean it took a major detour, but it got the job done."

"Right, I guess. Just don't make a habit of this."

"Don't make a habit of getting all mopey every time something doesn't go your way then!"

He chuckles, "Deal."

They both burst out laughing as they tread slowly for Ponyville.

Myles lets Rainbow use the shower first, since he expects he'll take a lot longer to get clean. She nods and towels herself off as she exits the bathroom and he makes his way inside. Before he can step into the shower, a bright flash catches his attention. He spins and frowns at a giggling Rainbow Dash as she snaps another picture of him facing her and covered in the mess. She leaves, still cackling as he runs the water and steps inside.

Rainbow is waiting in his living room as he enters, drying himself off.

"I don't suppose you still even have those pictures, do you?"

"Nope," Rainbow grins, "They're safely tucked away where you can't reach them. Don't even think about trying to destroy them, they're priceless!" She snickers as Myles rolls his eyes. His eyes widen as his stomach grumbles and Rainbow laughs harder.

"C'mon," she nods her head towards the door, "Let's head to Sugarcube Corner and get you some grub, my treat."

Myles sighs and smiles as he leans on the table, a few crumbs remaining on his plate as he burps. "'scuse me," he mumbles as Rainbow and the other girls turn to chuckle at him.

"They've been all over Ponyville, lookin' fer you Rainbow. I guess our stories just ain't good enough."

"Well not everyponies' cutie mark story can be as awesome as mine!"

A few of the others roll their eyes as Pinkie Pie trots in happily.

"Rainbow Dash! You're here!"

Everyone turns to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the doorstep and Rainbow smiles.

"I hear _you're _looking for my cutie mark story!" she says enthusiastically as she trots over to the three fillies. The pegasus sighs with exhaustion.

"You have noooo idea what I've been through to hear that story!"

She chuckles, "You have no idea what I went through to be here to tell it to you."

The other girls look perplexed as she continues and starts into her cutie mark story. Myles listens with interest and notices that near the end the other girls in the room get strange looks on their faces. He shrugs and sips his drink as he waits to hear the end.

"And that, little ones," Rainbow finishes with a smug look, "Is how you earn a cutie mark."

"Wait a second," Fluttershy speaks up, "I heard that explosion! And I saw the rainbow too! Rainbow Dash, if you hadn't scared the animals, I never would have learned I could communicate with them and gotten my cutie mark!"

"I heard that boom! And right afterwards there was this amazing rainbow that taught me to smile!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. One by one, his friends all admitted to an increasingly wary Rainbow Dash that they had all seen and/or heard the sonic rainboom and gotten their cutie mark as a result. Hearing the room fall silent, Myles looks up to see everypony looking at him.

"What?"

"How'd you get your cutie mark, Myles?" Twilight asked.

He sighs, "It isn't that great a story."

"See any rainbows?"

He shakes his head.

"Hear any explosions?"

"A couple."

"A couple?!"

"C'mon Myles, spit it out already!"

He rubs his head with a hoof, "Now?"

"YES!" the others shout in unison, making him flinch.

"Alright, alright," he begins with a tired expression, "It was back when I lived in Canterlot. I had been in Princess Celestia's School for the Magically Gifted for a little over a year…"

"You went to Princess Celestia's school?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, I thought you knew that."

"All I knew was that you used to live in Canterlot and took magic classes there, you never said you trained under Celestia."

"Well…. Trained is putting it nicely. It was more like I had gotten fed up with my normal teachers just explaining things the same way and expecting me to suddenly get it. Because of my… condition, I was convinced I couldn't actually do magic. I had been all ready to go back to my family home up North and give up, but Celestia insisted I had a gift and convinced me to stay. She said if I still couldn't use magic when she was done, I could have to equivalent of my scholarship in bits to start a new life. I agreed and… well slowly I got a little better. The magic still gave out randomly, but I had improved, so I had to stay. Then I stalled. Couldn't do anything new for several months. On a whim I tried something I'd found deep in the archives, crystal magic that hadn't been successfully performed in almost a thousand years. To my surprise, it worked… but well you know the rest of that part.

"Anyway, I was headed back to my dorm after a long day of trying to figure out how I'd done crystal magic when I heard the first explosion."

"And you didn't see a rainbow?"

He shakes his head, "Nope, the explosion came from behind me. I was about to look for the source but the second explosion came right after. And I saw that one happen right in front of my eyes. There was this bright light from one of the castle towers and then a dragon burst through the roof. Ponies started to panic and run, but I was more worried about the ponies inside the tower. The dragon wasn't moving or anything, so I ran for the tower entrance. The guards were arguing over what to do, but when they saw me coming they kept me from getting inside. I tried to explain and they said it didn't matter and that I wasn't allowed in. I could already tell we'd be going in circles if I started saying ponies needed help, so I tripped one of them up and slipped past them. I made it as far as the inner gate before they tackled me. I fought them a bit and I got my cutie mark."

The room was silent for a few moments.

"Wait, that's it?!" One of the crusaders whined.

"C'mon Myles," Rainbow grinned, "That's so not how that story ends, is it?"

He sighs again, "I dragged them both through the inner gate."

"WHAT?!" the others said in unison.

"BOTH of them?!"

"THROUGH the gate?!"

Myles nods, "They tried to pin me but I kept pulling forward, too mad at them and too concerned with the ponies inside to even realize they both had a hold of me. I managed to pull off a bit of magic and actually broke the door hinges. The door fell open a little and I pulled them partway through before the guards on the other side jumped me too."

"How'd you get away?"

"I didn't. They put me in the dungeon. A little later someone told Celestia what had happened and she came down to visit me. She was the one who read the report off to me and told me that both guards had been trying to restrain me at once. She said my concern for others was admirable and it was very noble of me to be so eager to put myself in danger to help, but that next time I shouldn't impede the guards from helping. I pointed out they weren't doing much and she sort of laughed, then said that I was right and she'd talk to them about it. Finally she opened the cell and congratulated me on getting my cutie mark."

Myles chuckles as he remembers the moment fondly, "I'd spent half a day in a cell without noticing it. The guards didn't know me so they just assumed I'd had it before they brought me in. I was too worried about getting kicked out of Canterlot or left in the cell to even realize I'd gotten it. She lifted all charges and let me go. Spent the rest of the night…. Celebrating…"

He begins to look a little sad but soon blinks in surprise as Twilight and the others pull him into a group hug.

"Huh? Wh-?"

"What color was the dragon?"

He blinks in confusion, "Ummm…. Purple with-"

"Green spikes," Twilight grinned as she finished, "When I got my cutie mark, I was flunking the test to join Celestia's magic school. Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom startled me into releasing my magic and I hatched Spike and grew him to adulthood, among many other things, in an instant. Nopony was hurt, if you were wondering."

"Wait so you….THAT was SPIKE?!"

Twilight nods as the girls giggle over their shared experience and Myles reels from the realization.

**Was your Pinkie Sense tingling when you started reading this chapter? Cause that was a doosy. Didn't even know it was gonna be that big either.**

**I mean, obviously I was gonna reveal his cutie mark story this chapter, as underwhelming as it is. I thought it up a long time ago when laying down a subtle connection to Twilight Sparkle was part of my plan for the character. A lot has changed since, including Twyles already being a subplot, Myles character progression and stuff that happens to him in season one. Season one used to be pretty tame, with Myles only intervening as his job demanded. The fight with the Ursa was the turning point, where I realized I could have this character develop and go through his own trials alongside the show without trampling all over the plot… yet. And then I started focusing on him, shifting between going along with the episode and ignoring it in favor of his own side story. And we're still not into the stuff I have a general plan for, because that doesn't start until season 2! Everything has pretty much gone off the rails of my original plan and I LOVE IT!**

**Honestly, these few short and tame chapters were so we could cool down a little bit before the season ended. I realized that in order to keep things interesting I couldn't overshadow the second season before I got there.**

**At the same time, I had put Myles into a funk that he couldn't remain in for the rest of the season and the only way I could think to get him back was to give him another win. I floundered a bit before I landed on this of all episodes as the chapter where he HAD to make a comeback. Luckily in my desperation to find a good challenge for Myles I went down the list of monsters again and again found myself thinking about the Coray Eels. We've talked about them before and why they're not very threatening to the town or in general. Then I remembered that Rainbow must have used the gorge often and the story quickly formed around her dragging him into something and him having to save her. I did think of using the hydra before, but it wasn't until I was typing the story that I realized I didn't want to type out Myles following Rainbow the slow way down the gorge. So I took a shortcut and brought the fight to Myles. Then I remembered the thing I had deliberately avoided last time the hydra came up and things just spiraled out of control from there in a very good way. I told a friend who had read the story and they instantly reacted in disgust at my synopsis of the fight. Sooooooo after moping a bit and sleeping on it, I came back and toned it back to be less violent. **

**You just read the result. I hope it wasn't still too gross. I tried to keep the violence as PG-13 as possible. Once again, it was much darker on my first pass and despite me holding back the first time, it was still a little gory. I managed to keep some of it and just edit it to keep things cleaner. Let's just say he had to shower in the original too, but when he emerged victorious, he wasn't covered in saliva. I saved the original fight elsewhere, so if enough people show interest in seeing Myles cut this fight even closer I'll post it.**

**So yeah… the cutie mark story, a toned down version of the most intense fight I think I've typed out to date and what else… OH YEAH!**

**We finally found out who the mysterious Trottingham pony was, as if most of you hadn't already guessed. I actually asked the same friend I mentioned to read the story and she figured it out fairly quick, but also confirmed it was a little subtle at first. So I consider it a mixed success at being a little suspenseful. But I'm not going back to change it to try and hide it better, what's done is done, hence my decision to drop his name this chapter.**

**I'm aware there may be a few of you who don't know who Doctor Whooves is, or the other show he's based on, Doctor Who. I don't blame you. Despite the shows long run, as a child I took one look at the older episodes and their effects and dismissed it as a Flash Gordon rip-off. Boy was I way off. I was spoiled by the 90s CGI boom so when I saw guys in costume it just made me laugh. Later on I learned what practical effects can accomplish (Army of Darkness and Underworld anyone?) and furthermore the new series of Doctor Who started in the mid 2000s and it was BRILLIANT. Still is probably, but I don't have cable so I'm always a season behind. Anyway, sorry for the huge digression, but I love the show and even have new respect for the old ones I've been able to see.**

**I'm going to try and avoid making this a crossover, since I don't want to move the whole thing and make it harder to find. My reasoning for this is that, unlike other Doctor Whooves stories I've seen, Doctor Whooves isn't the Doctor regenerating into a pony, he's a Timepony. Always looked like a pony and existed in this universe. He'll act much like the Doctor and there will be references to the other show but only in the capacity that because the character exists in this show, there is an equivalent of all those other things in this show we just haven't seen.**

**And if you couldn't tell from the brief description, yes it's Ten. I'm actually considering throwing in other pony iterations of his other regenerations, but we'll see how it works out as not being a crossover. He may have less and less to do with the story as things go on for reasons that I can explain at….**

**Another time.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**

**P.S. YESSSSSS! ALMOST DONE WITH SEASON ONE!**


	24. Book 1- Ch 24

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Owl's Well That Ends Well or Awakening the Titan

Laughter and cheerful talk echoes around the hill as the ponies talk and enjoy the clear night sky. They revel in the starlight as they await the incoming shower of shooting stars. A group at the top of the hill laugh and giggle atop a picnic cloth as they huddle around a baby dragon. A blue unicorn sits on the edge of the cloth, staring at the sky and ignoring everything else as he thinks.

Soon the shower starts and dozens of ponies join him in watching the beautiful display in the sky. They release gasps of awe and amazement as they witness the celestial rain, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Many eyes are turned skywards, but six of them are looking elsewhere.

Two eyes belong to a purple unicorn, who tries to enjoy the star fall but finds herself glancing over at the blue stallion, troubled by his expression and their most recent discussion.

"Oh hey Myles," Spike smiles as he answers the door and his greeting catches the attention of the library's other resident.

"Myles? Is something wrong?"

"No. Well something was… can I come in?"

"Of course you can," Twilight bites her lip to restrain herself from making the comment she wants to. She can see Myles is troubled by something and decides that bringing up previous arguments won't help him with what is obviously going to be a difficult subject for the stallion to discuss.

"I fought the Ursa Major."

Twilight's jaw drops and Spike freezes in the middle of preparing refreshments for the star gazing.

"Y-y-you did? When? Are you al-"

"I'm fine," Myles chuckles, "That was months ago now. That's what happened during the Running of the Leaves. It's what I wouldn't tell you about. That's not all though," he raises a hoof as she begins to speak, "I… managed to knock the ursa out and… the fight attracted timberwolves… lots of them. The ursa minor was there but it wouldn't have been able to fight them all off. I was…. Still upset about my house…so I started to walk away but… but then I remembered what you said, about it just being cranky, so… I got rid of the wolves. I hurt some of them but…. I didn't kill any of them. So…. Yeah…"

After the unexpected finish the room is silent until Twilight blinks.

"That was… months ago then. So why didn't you want to tell me that for so long?" Twilight asks in genuine confusion.

"Wh-wha? TWILIGHT?! Did you not just hear me! I…." Myles looks away in shame, "I was gonna leave them to die!"

"But you didn't, so…"

"I would have," Myles says darkly, "If…. If I hadn't remembered what you said…. I would have done it…"

"You came to your senses Myles. I don't see what the issue is here. I'm far more concerned about your use of magic and what it's doing to you. There may be more variables than I realized. If you would just let me run more te-"

He snarls and pushes the door open, "Fine. I don't see what I was so worried about then. Clearly my guilt isn't scientifically measurable and therefore of no importance to you!"

"But you didn't DO anything!"

She shouts at the pony rapidly running away from her door and bites her lip nervously, wondering why he had waited so long to tell her. Months ago she would have been worried about his health but he had had closer calls in the meantime. He had been angry about the house, that was understandable. Some ponies would have left. The fact that he stayed and rescued the ursas was a testament to compassion for the creatures of the forest, even those that could potentially destroy Ponyville.

"What was that about?"

"I'm not sure, Spike," Twilight says as she gazes into the darkness, "But we don't have all the facts yet… and not just about what happened that day either. Did you schedule that meeting I asked you about?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks Spike, you're the best."

"I know."

She shakes her head as she watches the stallion stare at the sky and hopes to get more solid answers soon. She has a theory and nothing more.

Another pair of eyes watch from the edge of Everfree Forest. A striped ear twitches under the figure's hood as it listens carefully. The moaning metallic sound she heard fades. The figure turns and heads home as the shower ends, awaiting the coming day with apprehension.

A third pair of eyes blinks as it gazes around the crowd and then nods, confirming something before stepping back inside a blue box.

Myles groans as he hears a knocking on his door and goes to answer. He is surprised to see Twilight Sparkle at his door as he opens it.

"Twilight?"

"Good morning, Myles."

"Good…. Morning…. Whats…. Whats up?"

"Just letting you know, I'm going to see Zecora today, so I'll be passing through the barrier."

He nods, "Alright, thanks for the heads up."

"It's been a while since you last saw Zecora," Twilight started nervously, "Would you like to come along?"

Myles tenses up a moment and then shakes his head, "No thanks."

"I'm sure she has more infor-"

"I said 'No.'" Myles was suddenly stern.

"Alright alright," Twilight sighs, "Have a nice day."

Myles sighs as he watches Twilight walk through the barrier. He dismisses the signal and turns to go back inside when a strange noise catches his attention. A slight buzzing makes his ears twitch and he walks up to the spot where some of the crystals he'd used to drain the starspider were buried. He eyes the peculiar sight before him, a swarm of honeybees in the open air, furiously circling the buried crystals. He listened intently and heard the subtle hum of the crystals.

He blinks in confusion, unable to believe what he hears. There is a slight buzzing blended with the expected hum. It harmonizes with the bees and to his surprise, forms words quieter than a whisper that are further hidden by the dual sounds of buzzing from the bees and humming from the crystals. He listens intently.

/Find the queen! Protect the queen!/

He just stares and then watches the flight pattern. It is frantic but consistently centered around the crystal, as though there were an invisible spire extending from the crystal that they kept flying around. He leans down and spot a larger bee on the ground just over the crystal. It appears to be alive and twitching.

Myles frowns and tunes into the crystal, pulling magic out of it and funneling it into the other nearby crystals. Almost instantly the queen flips over and buzzes into the air. The swarm gathers around it and Myles resists the urge to shout as the swarm envelops him as well. He opens his eyes as he realizes not a single bee is touching him. Except one.

He goes cross-eyed as he focuses on what he is certain is the queen sitting on the end of his snout. It wiggles it's feelers at him and he hears another buzz.

/Thanks/

"Ummm….." Myles is too dumbstruck to think properly, "No problem. I mean… you're welcome. Watch out for those."

/We shall/

Myles flinches as the queen takes off and shuts his eyes as the swarm flows around him and flies away. He blinks as he hears the swarm clear him and his eyes widen as he spots a yellow pegasus in front of him.

"Myles?" Fluttershy whispers.

"Fluttershy," Myles says flatly, "Did…. Did that just happen?"

Fluttershy nods nervously.

"And…. and you heard them?"

Though Myles didn't think it was possible, Fluttershy's eyes widened further.

"Not… not right now…"

"But I thought you could communicate with animals…"

"I- I can," Fluttershy nodded, "but some are harder to understand… or to hear… I haven't talked to bees much… but they generally have to shout all at once to be heard… And they're angry a lot… did… did you hear them?"

He nods nervously, "I think so… but it came through the crystals…"

"Really? That's odd… maybe bees communicate partially by magic… that would explain why they're so coordinated."

"Yeah," Myles nods uncertainly, "Yeah it might."

"Are you alright Myles?"

"Yeah," he nods again, "Yeah I'll be fine. Don't let me bother you."

"That's um…." She digs her hoof at the ground, "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I'm going into Everfree Forest, ummm… I mean… if its alright with you."

"Yeah its fine, Fluttershy."

"Okay," she continues nervously, "Thanks Myles… see you later."

"Sure Fluttershy," he sighs as he walks back into his house.

As Twilight and Zecora talk, they're interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. Zecora opens her door and Fluttershy speaks before either of the others can.

"There's something new," she begins.

"You have no idea," Twilight says solemnly, "I have to get back to the library…"

Myles groans as someone pounds on his door and walks grimly upstairs to answer it. The door cracks open and Myles frowns at Twilight on the other side.

"Myles! I have to tell you someth-"

"Is it something Zecora told you?"

"Yes! But-"

"I don't want to hear it. It just leads to ponies getting hurt."

"But her last predictions didn't lead to that and they didn't even refer to- UGHHHHH!"

Twilight shouts in frustration as the door is slammed shut and stomps back towards the library. What she sees when she arrives upsets her even more and Myles ear's twitch as he hears her shouting at someone else.

Myles is just settling down in his lab again when a dull tone makes him facehoof in frustration. He blinks as he taps the crystal on his leg and looks at the strange and short shape outlined in the barrier.

His front door bursts open as he looks outside and sees a trail of distinct red footprints leading into Everfree forest. He leans down and inspects one, sniffing it momentarily.

"Ketchup?"

"Myles! Spike ran off! I think he went to-"

"Everfree forest," Myles sighs as he runs alongside Twilight as they sprint into the forest, "I honestly wish I could just keep the barrier running all the time so this wouldn't happen. Why's he running?"

"I'm not sure, I think he's jealous."

"Jealous of what?"

_WHO._

"No, I said wha-…. Why is there an owl following you?"

"That's Owlicious, my other assistant, and I suppose my only one if we don't find Spike in time."

"Well on the bright side," Myles frowns as he slips in ketchup, "He didn't exactly make things difficult."

The owl swoops low and flies ahead. Myles slows as he picks up a familiar hollow sound and some howling. He rolls his eyes and looks at Twilight.

"You go after Spike," he skids to a stop and turns, "I'll handle them."

Twilight gallops on as Myles stands there with a grim expression. The bushes erupt with howling and barking timberwolves who stop and glare at Myles for about half a second before the entire pack makes an about face and scrambles over each other, yelping and barking as they attempt to go back the way they came.

"Yeah… yeah you better run… I guess," Myles shrugs as he turns and gallops after Twilight, "That was weird."

Myles ducks as Owliscious flies low over his head and looks back as he zooms off, making him miss Spike and Twilight sprinting in the opposite direction until they collide with him.

"Myles! We have to move! There's a dragon after Spike!"

Myles shakes his head and stands up as a thundering crash rings through the woods. He stands in front of Twilight and Spike as a scaly green dragon pulls the tree line apart and roars in his face. He coughs a bit and frowns at the dragon as the other two cower. The dragon blinks and turns its head to look closer at Myles before pulling back and nodding.

"What? That's it?! C'mon! What kind of dragon are you?"

The dragon growls and narrows its eyes at Myles as Twilight and Spike hold their breath.

"One who does not wish to sleep off the bruises you would deliver, Guardian of Everfree."

Myles blinks in confusion as the dragon turns and the forest shakes with its footsteps as it walks back to its home. Twilight taps his shoulder and he shakes his head. They all head back to town where they are greeted by their other friends who had heard the commotion. They rush forward and embrace them. Twilight and Spike start having a serious discussion about him being replaced and Myles begins to walk away when a hoof stops him. He looks over and is surprised to see Fluttershy blocking his path.

"Sorry," she says sheepishly, "But we need to talk. I mean… if you don't mind…"

He blinks, "Course I don't mind, Fluttershy, what's up?"

"Myles," he turns to look at Twilight as she addresses him, "Aren't you the least bit concerned about what just happened in the forest?"

"Not really," he frowns, "so he knew I'd put up a fight, so what?"

"That's not all, Myles. How'd you handle the timberwolves so fast?"

He shrugs, "They ran off pretty quick."

"Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"Not really," he looks confused, "I fought them before."

Twilight shakes her head and steps towards him.

"Myles," she places a hoof on his shoulder, "Haven't you noticed any animals acting strange in the forest?"

He laughs, "It's Everfree Forest, Twilight, they all act strange."

She shakes her head, "I suppose you wouldn't have spotted many since they've all been running from the scariest thing in the forest."

He frowns, "If you're talking about the Starstone Titan, he's dead. And by the way, thanks for bringing that up…"

"Myles think about that name. Starstone."

"Yeah, the starspider had crystals filled with magic in…"

"And how did you know that?"

"I listened. Look, Twilight, I-"

"What about its other names? Wrath of the sun? Like a beam of energy? Inevitable storm? Something that can't be stopped? Even the timberwolves fear it?"

"Where is this going?"

"How many times have the timberwolves run from you?"

He shrugs, "A couple…"

"And how many times did they run from the starspider?"

"They were never in the same place, look Twilight, I-"

"The mouse that roars at lions?"

"I told you, starspiders are about that size normally and it made that noise when it was charging magic energy."

"No, Myles. The starspider stayed quiet in the forest, unless it was fighting you."

"Twil-"

"And yet I saw you get flung across a chasm by a hydra, get to your feet and shout at it to come fight you again. And just now, you questioned a dragon based on its unwillingness to fight you."

"So…"

"So the spider never shouted at something several times its size. The starspider could barely control its magic. Its rays just exploded, not burned things like sunlight. The timberwolves never ran from it. Nothing ever considered it inevitable or unstoppable. There's only one thing in Everfree Forest that everything else is afraid of. One creature that drove away snakes without looking at them. One thing that challenges the largest and most dangerous predators in the forest and consistently comes out on top."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You stand before the other sleuth,

And she practically spells out the truth."

They all turn to see Zecora step out of the trees.

"The woods demand a higher price,

That we have warned you of more than thrice."

Myles scowls at the zebra, "ENOUGH! ENOUGH RIDDLES! JUST SAY IT OR GO HOME!"

Zecora's eyes narrow dangerously before she speaks again.

"Few beasts dare to bare their teeth at me,

But since it is clear that you cannot see,

If saying it clear is what we must do,

Then you should know the Starstone Titan is you."

Myles laughs nervously, "but that's ridiculous, how could I be the…"

_Myles stands atop a cliff, shouting in rage at a hydra that had just flung him bodily across a chasm. His world goes red as he stands between Twilight and a massive spider. A dragon watches and does nothing as he rages at it._

"That…. That's not…"

_Myles fires a beam of magic into the sky, pushing the Ursa Major over. A house buckles and bends outwards, leaving Myles standing in the rubble. A hydra head gags as its mouth is forced open by the sheer force of a magical blast._

"I…. but what about the…."

_"__The woods demand a higher price." "Twilight I was gonna leave them to die!" "Myles, cmon! We've gotta go!" "TWO URSAS AND A PONY AND ALL YOU HAVE TO FIGHT IS THE BUCKING PONY!" "What are you doing?" "My job."_

Myles' pants rapidly as he feels every memory line up and slide into place, all pointing to the one thing he'd feared most.

"Myl-"

Twilight stops as Myles pushes her hoof away and gallops at top speed back to his house. He hears his friends shouting and hammering on the door, but he reinforces it with a crystal forcefield and pulls his pillow over his head as he lays down shaking on his bed.

**Sooooooo some of you probably figured that out already. But I really hope this one worked out like I wanted and stayed pretty subtle up until right before the secret dropped. It was fun setting up all those fearsome titles for him and then making them apply to something else, even if the explanation for how "the Mouse that Roars at Lions" pointed to the starspider was a stretch. It was meant to be a little off, but hopefully it didn't give things away.**

**Two more episodes! **

**Sadly one of them is the Pinky-centric Party of One. Yeah… this is either gonna be awkward or short… or both. Ah well. We shall see.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	25. Book 1- Ch 25

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Party of One or Unshattered

Myles lays on his bed, staring at the crystal as his hoof rests on it. The violas and chellos dance up the chords and his ears twitch. He smiles a bit, though weakly, until he hears another rhythm countering the crystal. He lets go and goes to his door, opening it a crack to see Pinky Pie dancing and singing with exhaustion outside his front door.

"_This is your singing telegram,_

_I hope it finds you wellll._

_Youre invited to a pArty,_

_Cause we think you're really swell._

_Gummys turning uhhh…one yearold_

_So help us celebrate._

_The cake will be delishus,_

_The festivities first rate…_

_There will be games and dancing,_

_Bob for apples, cut a bug…rug…_

_And when the party's over_

_We'll gather upfora grouphug._

_No need to bring a gift,_

_Being there will be enough._

_Birthdays mean having fun with friends,_

_Not getting lots of stuff._

_It wont be the same without you_

_So we hope that you say "yes"_

_So please oh please RSVP_

_And come annnnn be ourrrr guueeeessss…"_

Myles blinks as Pinkie slows and collapses in front of him. He steps outside and checks to see if she's okay. Once it's clear she's just tired, he glances over to see her pet gator Gummy and sends him a quizzical look. Gummy shrugs, or gives the closest approximation a gator can to that gesture. Myles sighs and scoops Pinkie up, carrying her home on his back.

As he sets her down inside her house, she groans and blinks awake. Her eyes widen as she spots him.

"Myles! You left your house!"

"Well I couldn't leave you on my doorstep."

"But you haven't left since…"

"I found out I was a monster? Yeah… thanks…"

"No! You're not a monster! You're my friend!"

"Everyone's your friend Pinkie."

"I know! It's great! So can I expect you at the par-"

"No. I'd just ruin it."

"What? No you wo-"

"I said no," Myles sighs as he shuts her door and walks back towards his home.

As he passes by the library on the way home the door swings open suddenly.

"Myles?"

He sighs and picks up speed, but Twilight gallops out and catches up with him, throwing her hooves around his neck and squeezing him tight.

"Myles! I haven't seen you in over a week! I'm so glad you're alright! Look I know this is diffic- HEY!"

She shouts as he pries her hooves off of him and pushes her away.

"Myles you need to talk about this!"

"No thanks," he says without turning as he continues walking, "I don't want to know any more."

"That's not what I mean! At least you need to get out a little! Pinkie's throwing a party later! You sh-"

"I know, she collapsed on my doorstep, guess that song and dance routine was a little much to do repeatedly."

"Then will you-?"

"No," he says flatly as he reaches his door, turning and shutting it forcefully before she can follow. He hears her groan in frustration before she walks off.

Myles grits his teeth and heads back to his bed for another couple nights of pondering.

The next day he makes a quick breakfast and eats before laying down again. He taps the music crystal again and listens to the song start over, enjoying a bit before his memories crop up again.

_"__The starspider had crystal in its abdomen." "And how did you figure that out?"_

He snarls and picks up the crystal, cocking his hoof back and preparing to hurl it against the opposite wall. He freezes in place as he spots another figure standing in the crystal's trajectory.

"I'd keep that if I were you. Honestly I've lost count of how many times you've used the tiniest crystal to- HEY!"

Doctor Whooves rubs his forehead where the crystal struck him lightly before rolling to the floor.

"Many thanks for not throwing it full force, I suppose, but what was-?"

"Get out."

"Now Myles," the Doctor shakes his head and smiles, "Be reasonablaaAHHHHHHH!"

His cheerful Trottingham accent shifts to a shout of surprise as he is lifted into the air by one of his back hooves. He looks back to see it suspended in a cloud of grayish-blue magic and looks back to Myles in shock as each of his other hooves are gripped magically and stretched out in mid-air. He pants and winces as he looks at the unicorn, who is clearly angry, so much so that he doesn't seem to notice his nosebleed.

"Myles! You have to- AAAAHH!" The Doctor shouts as his hooves are stretched a little further.

"You. DON'T. Tell me…. What I have to do…" Myles pants and snarls.

"I'm only trying to heAAAAARRGH!" The Doctors eyes widen in pain as he is stretched painfully far.

"EVER!" Myles snarls as he hurls the Doctor against the far wall, where he slides to the ground in a heap. He tastes something coppery and spits out some blood before wiping his snout. When he looks up again, the Doctor is just getting to his hooves.

"I understand- NO!"

Myles' eyelid twitches as his horn sparks and fizzles and the Doctor remains in place, pointing a strange device at him with his hoof that assaults his hearing.

"Sorry," Whooves sighs as he tucks the device away, "I know you hate that, but we need to talk. If you'd just let me- AWWWWWRGH! HONESTLY?!"

Doctor Whooves reels and grips his snout as Myles raises his hoof again.

"Ask anything in the forest," He says with quiet menace, "I don't need magic to end you."

"You don't end things, Myles," the Doctor says as he raises a hoof, pleading him to stop, "You protect things."

"You sure are behind on current events, isn't that important to a time traveler?"

"I'm well aware of current events, which is precisely why I'm here. Now," he takes on a businesslike tone, "You're frustrated and ashamed, I realize this, but that's no reason to take it out on others. You don't even seem to realize that this isn't a curse, more of a responsibility. You seem to realize it just as little as I realize that I just missed something…. Something important…. Something like….oh."

Myles smirks a little.

"Figured that out did you?"

"It makes sense," Myles shrugs, "Your knowledge of future events, you appearing right where you _think_ you're needed, your insistence that I will know what the buck you are doing someday."

"I could just be magic."

"The fact that you've never used that sonic gadget on me yet knew for certain that it would bother me, and spoke as if it already had."

"Ah…" Whooves bites his lip, "Yes well… I could just be..." He sighs, "Alright, fair enough. Yes I'm a time traveler. I keep forgetting you do that, it's endlessly frustrating… and a little impressive."

"Do what?"

He chuckles, "Let yourself be controlled by emotion while your brain works on a problem. You seem perfectly irrational and then you slip in the solution to the middle of a conversation."

"Well the reactions are worth it for everypony I've met so far. So judging by your familiar tone," Myles sighs as he leans against his bed, "I'm never gonna get rid of you, am I?"

"Look, I know I'm not always the bearer of good tidings, but I am trying to help."

"Lot of that going around. Funny how it always ends up making me miserable anyways."

"It does seem to be a peculiar trend," He rubs his chin with a hoof, "And I'm so sorry, but it wont be the last time."

"Unless I stop listening."

"I'm rather afraid you can't, its very important."

"So you keep telling me. And only that, Right? Just enough to keep your monster showing its teeth to the right ponies?"

"No," the Doctor says sternly, "that's why I'm here actually, to tell you you've got it all wrong."

"For a second there I almost believed you had something new to say. Too bad."

"Myles, everypony tells you of your strength but you don't believe it, you just use it because you're used to it."

"I'm a bully and a monster, nothing more."

"Myles?"

"Yeahp?"

"Look out the window."

Myles raises an eyebrow and glances outside.

"What am I looking for?"

"Everfree."

"Uhhhhh yeah…. What about it?"

"Now this window," the Doctor indicates the other, "What do you see?"

"Ponyville," Myles rolls his eyes, "Look Doc, I'm really tired of these games…"

"Notice anything about them?"

"Not really."

"They're still there."

Myles frowns at the Doctor, "Har har. Look if you're just going to point out the obvi-"

"Myles you almost died, then rewired your own magic and blew up a house by _accident._"

"Yes. That happened, thanks for reminding me, now pl-"

"So if you wanted to, you could likely level the town and the forest in one go."

"Why in Equestra would I do that?"

"You wouldn't, which is precisely my point."

"Sorry?"

"Pinkamena Diane Pie collapsed on your front stoop this morning. If you were a bully you'd have laughed and left her there to bake in the sun. If you were a monster you'd have finshed her off."

"No I wouldn't, she's my friend!"

"Monsters don't have friends, Myles."

"So I look and act like a pony sometimes, doesn't mean I'm not horrible."

"What makes you so sure you're this despicable thing you've concocted in your mind?"

"Several things, mostly the anger and all too familiar desire to end some creatures in a more permanent sense."

"And the number of times you've carried out this desire?"

"Twice…"

"Zero."

"The starspider…"

"Is the best case for your kindheartedness of them all. You saw what you were becoming and did everything within your power to save the poor creature."

"And my actions killed it anyways."

"We all make mistakes, Myles, even me. Believe me there are things I'd go back and change, but I can't… for… complicated reasons. But you did all you could to save a creature that your friends and neighbors dismissed as monstrous because you saw its pain."

"And the hydra…"

"Was no longer itself, it had become an all-consuming mass ready to destroy the planet and you knew it. You saved the world Myles."

"And all I had to do was fight so much that everything big and small is afraid of me…"

The Doctor chuckles, gaining him a foul look from Myles. He clears his throat, "It does seem a steep price, I know, but it is one that must be paid."

"I never asked for this."

"Unfortunately we had to make it impossible for you to decline this fate."

"So you orchestrated all of this?"

"Not all, no," the Doctor looks nervous, "I was forced to act myself due to some outside interference, but you had to arrive where you are now."

"Because somepony had to pay the price, right?"

"Because somepony was needed who could pay the price without it consuming them."

"Right… that's why I'm partying with my friends right now. I feel soooooo…. Whole and uncorrupted."

"I said not consumed. Myles you are stronger than you know."

"So I make the perfect deterrent, right? Not even a dragon wants to fight me."

"That does seem to be true, but that's not the point…"

"I know, the point is I stay here and wait for something to challenge me, then remind it why it shouldn't. And who cares what happens to me in the meantime?"

"Wrong!" Myles jumps at the Doctor's sudden shift in tone, "Myles if Ponyville were threatened today, what would you do?"

"My job," he scowls, "What's your point?"

"Just because you are paid to do it doesn't mean that's the only reason it gets done. If Celestia banished you today and the Ursa Major came through town and started destroying houses, you'd still defend it, correct?"

He thinks a moment, "I… I guess I would…"

"Because you are still you. Under every inch of sarcasm, stubbornness and suppressed rage you are still a pony who would rather expend every bit of energy within his being in the process of saving another instead of leaving them to their fate. You have seen and experienced several astounding things and they have altered your perceptions of yourself and the world around you, but within you have remained yourself. Unbroken despite the efforts of many. Yes the inhabitants of the woods and residents of the town fear you, but some of them also love you. They all respect you though, because you have done these things that you feel must be done, even though it has cost you. They have all perceived on some level the reason you were chosen in the first place. You were the only pony who could be demanded so much effort from and not be found wanting. They can all see that."

"So I'm stronger than them, that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"No! You fight tooth and hoof to protect others, going far and above the call of your duties. Sometimes you falter, but you always get back up. Stubborn mules could take a lesson! Even more than they refuse to budge you refuse to stay stopped! You have met your foe on every occasion and faced it down! Where others would perish you merely rest and stand again! You use your last ounce of strength to urge your foes to fight more and they see the layers of strength buried beneath that they cannot hope to stand against! Your fight your own body to do what others say is impossible or insane!"

Myles blinks and looks thoughtful, "But…. It seems like it always costs so much, each time I almost die… almost lose everything I own… or my… friends."

"And yet realizing this you _still fight!_ With your body, mind and magic. With everything you possess you keep fighting back. Myles… you always keep going. Even when you believe everything is against you. And it only stretches you to your limits when you deny yourself your greatest asset: your friends."

Myles looks confused, "Wait… why spend all this time and effort saying I'm strong and then tell me I'm worthless without my friends?"

"That's not what I said! I said they were your greatest asset. Myles you could give a pack of wild and starving animals pause by yourself. But with the love and support of your friends, and the hope that comes with that, you could stand against Celestia, Luna and every guard under their command."

"Who's to say Twilight couldn't do that?"

"She likely could, but she'd be conflicted and constantly question her fight with each passing moment. She'd be reluctant to face down her mentor. You, on the other hand, will gladly throw crystals at those who only want to help you if you see them as a threat."

"…sorry."

"Don't be," the Doctor shakes his head, "it's good to know you still have fight in you after all this. It's reassuring. Lets me know I've bet on the right horse."

"Ummm…"

"Oh it's just an expression."

"No I mean… what… are you betting against?"

The Doctor's expression sinks, "I'm sorry, but that will have to wait for…"

"Right… right… nevermind…Please just… go… I'll keep going, because I have to, right?"

"Wrong again!" He rushes forwards and places his front hooves on Myles' shoulders, "Inevitable storm. Mouse that roars at lions. Rage of the sun. Guardian of Everfree forest. These are titles some ponies could only dream of attaining. But they don't know the cost, they don't know what it is to earn those titles. They believe it would empower them rather than destroy them."

He grins and sets his hooves down, then takes out the strange device again and points it at the elevator shaft in the center of his home. A drawn out metallic noise is heard and a blue box fades into being in the middle of Myles' home. Doctor Whooves steps towards it and opens the door, stepping through and giving Myles a glance at a much larger space beyond.

"Titles aren't given to those who need power or strength. Titles are given to those with the strength to safely wield such power."

Myles glances around the back of the blue box in astonishment, then back through the door. Doctor Whooves laughs.

"Now stop staring like a simpleton and get yourself to Pinkie Pie's house. You've a party to attend. Oh! And I parked right where… I see… enjoy the interspacial rift!"

Myles blinks in confusion as the door closes and the box fades away again. His ears pick up a strange sound from the place where it was and he takes a step forward. His hoof collides with something and he looks down as he hears a familiar orchestra begin to play. He smiles and picks up the crystal, replacing it on his bedside table before galloping out of his house. The door pulls itself shut as he proceeds to Pinkie's house.

When he arrives, he finds the door open and walks inside at the sound of raised voices. He raises an eyebrow as he spots Rainbow Dash yelling at…. A pile of rocks. Rainbow seems to realize how ridiculous this is as she bumps into the pile and knocks it over. Myles looks around at the chairs surrounding the table, all adorned with some inanimate object with a party hat on top.

"Pinkie! Just come ON!"

Rainbow struggles to move something from beneath the table. She makes some headway and Myles spots a pink main and rump slide from under the table. He chuckles and takes hold of Rainbows tail, tugging them both back from under the table. She looks around in surprise.

"Myles! I haven't seen you in….uhhh nevermind… can you lend a hoof?"

He chuckles and nods as he drags Pinkie out from under the table, "So you're gonna be able to explain all this later, right?"

She frowns, "Well, the rocks and bags of flour in party hats… not really… but I'm pretty sure I know the rest. Now cmon! We gotta get her to Applejack's barn!"

Together they literally drag Pinkie to the barn as she digs in her hooves and tries to stop them. At long last they arrive and Rainbow kicks the door open, helping Myles haul her inside. Myles hears a shout of "Surprise!" before he looks up and sees the rest of his friends with perfect examples of that feeling spread across their faces.

"Myles?"

Myles glances around at the decorations and frowns a bit.

"No, I'm pretty sure it isn't my birthday, sorry. I'm guessing you meant somepony else."

Twilight steps forward, "Well… yes.. but.."

Myles shakes his head, "If it's who I think it is, she could really use cheering up, so lets get on with it."

She looks confused for a moment and then seems to realize what he means. They explained things to Pinkie, who was evidently mad at them all for having skipped her last party, and hadn't realized they had done so to prepare for her birthday. Myles tried to apologize for forgetting a gift but the others wouldn't hear of it as Pinkie brightened up and her hair resumed its normal chaotic nature. Amidst the revelry, Twilight pulled Myles aside.

"So… are you just here because you feel you have to be? Because if you need more time to… you know…"

He shakes his head and smiles, "Not because I have to, no, but because I can."

**Phew. I got through it, salvaged an earlier deleted scene, some other ideas and still managed to tie it into the story. Hallelujah.**

**I only sort of like this episode though, because while it ends well, I often find I have the same problem with my own friends, in that they are always too busy to hang out. I try and space times when we hang out farther apart so I don't become obnoxious, but I worry I come across that way regardless when I keep asking when they're free. And unlike in the episode, it never turns out they were busy preparing a surprise for me, they simply have jobs and things to attend to. I guess you could say this episode hits a little too close to home for me. And while watching Pinkie form her own party of inanimate objects is funny, it also reminds me that some days, when I fire up YouTube on one screen and a video game on another because no one else is available, that I'm essentially doing the same thing that Pinkie did in order to not feel lonely.**

**I've recently taken to online chatting to try and avert this, buuuuut I have ADHD so… I end up with about 3-5 conversations going at once on average (think one day I had 8 going) because I hate waiting for a reply. I've made some great friends through it but I've also received some additional frustration from others. It has also inadvertently eaten into my free time sometimes, but I'm finding the balance. Slowly.**

**So yeah… lots of Whooves yapping on with exposition about Myles being important, but I tried to keep it entertaining. Hope it worked.**

**And before you say anything, yes I know he's just called "the Doctor" on his own show, but I'm using the other name to reemphasize that this isn't ****_that_**** Doctor, he's another character that happens to be a fond reference to that Doctor, but is still a character that exists within this story on his own. Really not wanting to move this to the crossover section, since his role in this is supposed to be somewhat of a surprise and finding this story under My Little Pony/Doctor Who is kind of a dead giveaway. And I don't like digging through the (insert show)/"Misc shows" section for any story, since it's not always evident what you're going to get there. Oh you wanted this plus this? Well that's in there, but it's pretty much buried under this other thing.**

**Which it may seem like this story did, but I remind you once again that Doctor Whooves exists within the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.**

**And while he plays a large part in the story at times, the main focus is still Myles.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	26. Book 1- Ch 26

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

The Best Night Ever or A Strange Sort of Party

"Ummmm…. Excuse me… would you boys mind pulling our carriage to the gala?"

The two ponies look a little irritated but straighten up as they see Myles approach, chuckling.

"Didn't Twilight have some sort of plan for that?"

"Hello Myles," Rarity smiles excitedly, "Yes… but that … fell through…"

"Ah well I'm sure these two can do the job."

They grumble as Rarity walks away and Myles leans on the fence, passing a few bits over as their eyes widen.

"Just let them see you pulling it when they get in and leave it at the edge of town, I'll take care of it from there."

They nod distractedly, counting out the bits as he walks off.

Myles pulls the suit on and straightens out the tie, having settled on a bowtie so it wouldn't get in the way. He stretches and shakes his head, still astounded that Rarity managed to make an outfit so functional despite her usual emphasis on fashion. The suit still looked good to Myles, and it likely looked like a masterpiece to Rarity and Fluttershy for reasons that could only be explained with lengthy foreign words that only they understood, but Myles still found it amazing that she had clearly had him in mind while making it. He had worn a suit to the year before last's gala, having still been hospitalized during last year's, but had found it stiff and uncomfortable. He'd tried to return it, but it had ripped in several places, so the tailor had turned him down. He hadn't even moved around that much, it just seemed to rip on its own.

His current suit even allowed space for his legband that connected to the early warning system in Ponyville, as well as an extra pocket for his goggles. Rarity had pulled out all the stops for his suit and he was grateful, thinking perhaps that he should have been a bit nicer to her over the past year for the extra consideration.

It was still surprising to him to think about the fact that it had been a year since Nightmare Moon had attacked Equestria. The amount of time that had passed hadn't even registered with him until Pinkie invited him to her pre-Summer Sun Celebration party, which Myles enjoyed as well as the actual Celebration, which was much improved by having both Princess Celestia and Luna attend without mysteriously vanishing or threatening anypony's way of life.

Myles grins as he slides the sleeve of his suit back and taps the crystal on his leg. He nods as the barrier around Everfree pulsed into life, the mayor having warned the citizens that it was off limits while he was away and Myles himself having checked that no one snuck in. After a thorough talk with a colt who felt he had to prove that Snips and Snails were cowards by going around the forest and taunting random bears, he'd returned home to get ready.

Now he slides his sleeve back over his leg and makes his way to the edge of town where he finds the carriage stopped and two younger stallions panting with exhaustion. They look gratefully at him as he approaches. Spike is sitting in the driver's seat with a look of confusion.

"But… but they agreed…"

"Shh. Spike. Its fine," Myles says just loud enough for him to hear as he puts on the harness and digs his hooves into the ground.

"Myles you can't… can't…"

Myles grins as the carriage begins to move and builds momentum, allowing him to pull it easier. He glances back at Spike. "Don't tell me what I can't do."

"Where are you going? Myles isn't aboard yet!"

Myles chuckles, "Yes I am Twilight, I decided to ride up front with Spike."

"Oh… alright then…"

Myles' mind wandered as he treads the not so familiar path to Canterlot. It occurs to him that this is the first time he wouldn't be arriving by train and also the first return since having been sent to Ponyville. He'd taken the train to Canterlot from his hometown up North as a child, leaving his family behind with mixed feelings. His lips form a thin line as he remembers what came next. He shakes his head and clears it from his mind, focusing on the night ahead. At least until Spike whips the reins, making the harness snap against his side while he shouts, "Then let's get moving!"

He turns and looks at Spike, who is suddenly nervous.

"If you ripped Rarity's suit I'm gonna let her know."

"No no! Please! She'd hate me forever!"

Myles chuckles, "Relax Spike, I'm pretty sure I could run through a field of thornbushes and not hurt this thing."

Spike wipes his brow and sighs with relief as they pull up to the walkway leading into Canterlot. The girls pile out as Myles opens the door. He smiles in amazement as they step out in their completed dresses, which look even more astounding than the day they'd been shown off at their own fashion show. Myles finds his gaze lingering on the starry gown adorning Twilight and subsequently Twilight as his eyes shift slightly. He shakes his head as somepony clears their throat. "What?"

Rarity smiles at him, "Oh good, you can talk, and here I thought you'd injured your tongue when it hit the floor."

"Hey! Rari-"

She giggles, "Relax Myles, but please tell me where our carriage pullers went, I'd like to show my gratitude."

Myles looks nervous, "They uhhh… got tired. So I offered to pull the rest of the way."

Rarity frowns and steps closer, tugging on his suit a bit, "I knew you'd do something like this, I reinforced the suit just in case, but don't push it Myles."

He smiles and then blinks a bit as Rarity whips out a comb and tugs it through his mane. "Ow! What gives?"

"There we go, now you're one handsome stallion, ready for his best night ever."

Myles is about to make a remark when he hears music kick in and the others smile and begin singing. He raises an eyebrow as they proclaim their hopes in verse and idly wonders how they'd rehearsed this without him hearing. He frowns a bit, hoping Rarity would remember what he'd told her a year ago. Myles grins and shakes his head as she sings about meeting her prince and falling for him. He only knew of one prince in Canterlot and he had learned the definition of chivalry since they'd last met everypony would die of shock. He makes a mental note to try and find Rarity later to provide some comfort. He focuses on Twilight as she bursts into song and sings about an extended discussion with the Princess. He bites his lip and is about to say something, but she makes her way into the castle as the song ends and greets the princess warmly.

Myles follows a little grimly as he approaches and bows before the princess.

"Myles, so nice to see you here again. Hope you enjoy yourself more this time."

His lip twitches a bit as he glances at Twilight and nods, "yeah… I'll try."

The princess smiles knowingly as Twilight greets Myles with a tight hug. Myles hugs back gingerly and rolls his eyes as he moves on, wondering if all of Equestria was going to know about his feelings for Twilight before she did.

He makes his way in and ambles about the crowd, thinking about his friends' expectations in their song and sighing as he realizes he didn't make any plans himself, despite promising Rarity he'd attend. Of course he'd elected not to after remembering his disappointment two years ago, but hearing his friends sing with so much hope made him a little jealous, making him wish he'd been able to form such high expectations. This was a party, after all, and he had resigned himself to simply attending. He grins as he thinks of Pinkie, entering the main ballroom and seeing the pony in question singing a strangely creative cover of the "Pony Pokey" on stage. He grabs a drink, leans on a pillar and watches with a smile as she sings and dances. He sets his drink aside and claps his hooves together as she finishes, but the ponies around him give him strange looks and one nearer to Pinkie speaks up.

"Young lady! This is not_ that_ kind of party!"

Myles pulls his leg back, ready to hurl his drink at the snobby mare, but stops and shrugs as he sees Pinkie smile and zip away, ready to start more antics.

"Well if it isn't the princesses own revolutionary student of magic. Oh, sorry, former."

Myles rolls his eyes as he rounds on the unwelcome pairing of Jet Set and Uppercrust. He'd never bothered to learn which was which, as they were almost never seen apart and worked hard on their act of "unpleasant snob couple."

"Technically," Myles retorts, "I still am Celestia's student."

"Certainly hasn't caused you to learn anything, has it? Or figure out how you enchanted that crystal? Ahha huh!"

Myles rolls his eyes at their nasal laughter and turns away, deciding not to waste his breath telling the pair what had happened, as they'd only find some way to make it seem meaningless.

"You must admit though," Myles blinks and turns again as Fancy Pants and his unnaturally pretty wife approach. He blushes as the wife continues, "He fills out that suit nicely enough."

Myles mutters his thanks as the wife waves fondly and Jet Set and Uppercrust are forced to grumble in agreement. Fancy Pants smiles at this and places a leg around his wife.

"Now honey, don't go making me jealous every time some young stallion in a fancier suit comes along. Where did you get such a wonderful outfit Mr…."

Myles blinks, "Shardsole… and my friend Rarity made it."

"I see," he nods approvingly, "We simply must meet-"

They all turn in surprise as the doors burst open and Applejack wheels in a multi-layered cake, then turn again as Pinkie shouts "STAGE DIVE!"

Myles winces and steps forward as Pinkie hits the cart and propels the cake at the opening door. His eyes widen as Rarity opens the door for Prince Blueblood, who sees the cake and pushes Rarity in front of him to block the cake. She rounds on him, covered in cake and shaking with fury.

Myles bites his lip as Rarity shouts at Prince Blueblood, who recoils and backs up to the door in fear. "YOU SIR ARE THE MOST UN-CHARMING PRINCE I HAVE EVER MET! IN FACT THE ONLY THING ROYAL ABOUT YOU IS THAT YOU ARE A ROYAL PAIN!"

Myles continues suppressing his laughter until Fancy Pants taps his shoulder. "I find it rather rude to laugh at the young lady's predicament. Her dress was quite beautiful."

Myles shakes his head, "That's not what I'm laughing at."

"EW! Stay back! I just had myself groomed!"

"AFRAID TO GET **_DIRTY_**!?"

Myles chuckles as Rarity shakes the cake loose and gets it all over Blueblood. "Saw that coming."

"I understand why she's upset," Pants' wife speaks up, "Such a wondrous dress ruined, I hope she can get it replaced at a discount."

Myles grins, "She should, she made it."

"Really? Who made th-"

Myles gallops forward as the Prince stumble back and collides with a large statue. Myles sprints forward but before he can act Rainbow Dash streaks forward and catches the statue. He sighs with relief until it tips sideways and strikes a pillar, which tilts and strikes the next pillar and the next one, threatening to bring them all down on the partygoers. The columns glow with a grayish-blue light as Myles catches them, his nose spouting a trail of blood as he holds the pillars up until the partygoers flee to a safe distance. He lets them fall, gasping for breath just as Twilight and Celestia walk in. Twilight mutters something and Myles turns as the doors to the courtyard burst open. A wave of wild animals pour through, making the ponies flee in front of the stampede. A bear charges forth just as Fluttershy breaks in and shouts "YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!"

The bear charges forward, digging grooves in the tile as it scrambles to get away, not paying attention to those in its path, most of whom are smart enough to get out of the way.

Save for Prince Blueblood, who simply cowers as the bear approaches, gasping as a pair of rear hooves connect with the bear's side and make it stumble. The bear rounds on its attacker, enraged, only to pause as he sees Myles adorned with a trail of blood from his nose, newly messy hair from the leap and an expression of determination. The bear's eyes widen as realization hits it and leaves a foul odor as it charges even faster back past Fluttershy.

"You saved me kind sir! Oh! But what foul odor! The beast has soiled the ballroom with its fear! You must be rewarded for-" He gasps as Myles looks at him and he stutters, "R-Ragamuffin?!" He screams at an uncomfortably high pitch as Myles drives a hoof onto his snout, making it bleed profusely.

"That's plenty rewarding right there," Myles nods in satisfaction, "At least for me, not so much for your Boredship. And the name is Myles Shardsole."

Myles walks calmly after the girls as they flee the ballroom, chuckling as Rarity goes back to shatter her glass slipper so Blueblood can't find her. He follows them to the local donut shop, where they join Spike and describe their night.

"That sounds like the worst night ever!"

"It was!" Myles joins the girls in laughing about the peculiar events until Twilight speaks up.

"I hope the princess isn't upset with us for ruining the gala."

Myles opens his mouth to speak but is cut off by a voice from the door, "That was the best Grand Galloping Gala EVER!"

"Princess Celestia!" The girls cry as Myles rolls his eyes again.

"Pardon me, Princess," Twilight speaks up, "But tonight was just… awful!"

"Oh Twilight," the princess barely holds in a laugh, "The Grand Galloping Gala is _Always_ awful!"

"It is?"

"That is why I was thrilled you were all attending. I was hoping you could liven things up a bit, and while the evening may not have gone as you planned, I'm sure you'll agree that in the end, it didn't turn out so bad for this group of friends. Not to mention it was more entertaining that usual. I haven't had that much fun at a Gala since two years ago, when Myles managed to offend nearly every aristocrat and businesspony attending."

The others laugh as Myles smiles nervously. Concluding in the end that their friendship had made this the best night ever after all.

**Okay, so the night wasn't all that bad for Myles, even considering he didn't expect much, but I didn't have much specific to him to go wrong. In fact him having known Prince Blueblood was a last minute addition, if you couldn't already tell. I ended up focusing on the suit a lot and then calling forward to my favorite episode of season 2. Still, I got through it without bringing Myles' family to the ball, which while a dramatic thing to happen, I would have felt guilty for ripping off the twist another fanfic did for this chapter, albeit with the reasons for unpleasantness completely changed. And I'm sorry if you found this to be a little short for a season finale, but the episode is divided up amongst the mane six and in order to be there for every moment Myles would have to move faster than Rainbow Dash. But the episode is all over so it can touch on each pony's troubles and that works for the episode, not so much for my modification of it.**

**Oh yes and of course the was the other matter of this being THE END OF SEASON ONNNNNNNEEEE! WOOOOOOO! I DID IT! I FINALLY GOT THERE! It didn't turn out at all like I expected but I still love the end result and I'm thankful I got to write it.**

**Of course now we start getting into stuff I actually had planned out to some degree. We'll see how that goes, but for now I'm fairly happy with the story.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	27. Book 2- Ch 1

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

The Return of Harmony Pt. 1 or Another Time

Myles blinks as he looks around. The crystal cave was the same as always at a glance, but upon closer inspection the three tuned crystals were chipped and cracked in several places. More alarming was the state of every other crystal in the cave, each of which thrummed with a steady beat and pulsed light.

All in unison.

A dull chuckle echoes throughout the cave as it is consumed in light.

Myles gasps as he wakes up, rubbing his head and sitting up with a frown. He sighs at the strange noise coming from the elevator shaft, which had pulsed occasionally since the blue box had faded from his house. He'd spent weeks studying the strange sound and energy coming from the spot and still not quite made headway in finding out what he was supposed to be looking for. He had invited his friends over and subtly determined that, much like the crystals he worked with, he was the only one capable of hearing the sound produced.

Myles feels a pang of guilt over keeping secrets from his friends again, but shakes his head as he goes to make breakfast. He had no way of proving to them anything about the cave or the Doctor and had a feeling that both Zecora and Princess Luna would remain silent if asked. If he told them now… If he told _her_ now, they'd only worry about him. He begins to make some toast as he mulls over in his head how to broach the topic of him seeing things the others couldn't, but after only a few minutes his thinking is interrupted by a burning smell. Scowling and shutting off the toaster, he elects to go to Applejack's for breakfast.

He blinks in confusion as he approaches the farm, which seems to be in a state of varied disaster. Bending low he sniffs a pile of what unmistakably smells of-

"Popcorn?"

He moves around the sagging trees to see all his friends gathered around a pile of pink fluffy clouds being eaten by some strangely long-legged bunnies and appears to walk in on the end of Twilight making some sort of speech. As he approaches, Spike coughs up a letter and Twilight looks alarmed as she reads it, then nods at Myles as he walks up.

"Good, you're here. Cmon, everypony! Princess Celestia wants to see us all in Canterlot immediately!"

Twilight and the others told him the details of what had been going on that morning as they rode the train to Canterlot and he ate a hurried breakfast of popcorn and chocolate milk. Myles had sealed the barrier to Everfree as a precaution while he was gone and a quick review of the monitoring system revealed nothing unusual had come out of the forest recently. He puzzled over the situation to no avail, his wariness only increasing as they met with a clearly nervous Princess Celestia, an expression few witnessed her wearing, who beckoned them to follow.

"I've called you here for a matter of great importance," Celestia spoke as she led them through a corridor of stained-glass windows depicting historic events, "It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago has returned." She turns to one window depicting a strange creature made up of several different parts of animals before she continues, "His name…. is Discord."

Fluttershy squeaks in fear and hides behind the others.

"Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him he ruled Equest-"

Myles frowns as his hearing goes silent for a bit, he rubs a hoof in his ears, coming away with a coating of wax that he was sure hadn't been there seconds ago.

"-gainst him! Turning him to stone!"

"Alright princess!" Rainbow cheered.

"I thought he was contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell weakened and degraded over time. This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements of Harmony are kept inside, since all of you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements once again and stop Discord! Before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos!"

"But why us?" Twilight began before she was cut off by a happy shout.

"Hey look," Pinkie exclaimed, "We're famous!"

They all turned to another window that clearly portrayed the seven of them directing energy at Nightmare Moon.

"You seven showed the full potential of the Elements, by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe! Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord!"

Twilight looks thoughtful and actually turns to Myles. After his expression of surprise wears off he nods to show he's behind them the whole way. "Princess Celestia, you c-"

"Hold on a second!" Pinkie interrupts, "Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys! _Chocolate rain!"_

"Don't listen to her, Princess," Twilight reassures her, "We'd be honored to use the Elements once again."

The princess nods and pushes her horn into the door in front of them, which shines and unlocks revealing a bejeweled box that floats towards them.

"Have no fear, my little ponies," Celestia says confidently, "I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord… with these."

The group gasps as Myles grits his teeth at the sight of an empty case.

"The Elements! They're gone!"

"That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!"

Myles tugs his goggles over his eyes and looks at the door, shaking his head as they blur and fuzz up, unable to read the magic being used on the door. He frowns as he hears another familiar sound. He is about to start fiddling with the goggles when he hears a chuckle that sounds eerily familiar as well. He pulls up his goggles and looks around for the echoing voice.

"Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"

"Discord! Show yourself!"

The laugh deepens as one of the portrayals of Discord on the windows shines and with a flash begins to move. "Did you miss me Celestia?"

Myles tugs his goggles down and looks at the window, getting the same interference as before but catching a glimpse of silvery blue. He frowns and pulls off the goggles again as the shape begins moving.

"I've missed you. It's quite lovely being imprisoned in stone but _you _wouldn't know that, would you because I don't turn ponies into stone!"

"Enough! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

"Ohhhh I just borrowed them for a teensy little while."

"You'll never get away with this, Discord."

"Oh I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite boooring."

"Hey! Nobody insults the princess!" Rainbow shouts as she charges for the glass and smacks into it headfirst.

"Oh you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent."

"That's right! I'll always be loyal to the princess!"

"We'll see about that."

"I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window."

"The beautiful Rarity, representing the Element of generosity, if I'm not mistaken."

"So ya know who we are, big deal!"

"Oh I know much more than that, Honest Applejack."

"You seem to know our strengths too."

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle. And yours is the most powerful and elusive Element: Magic. Fluttershy's is kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine: laughter."

He chuckles as Pinkie snickers at his dancing on the image of Twilight's head. Myles scowls and chances another look through the goggles, once again finding only unfathomable nonsense.

"And that just leaves Myles, the Element of perseverance, who even now tries to work his mind around yet another problem he should already know the answer to. That must be sooo frustrating, but don't worry Mr. Shroudsail, you'll get there eventually. It'll be too late by that point, but at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you figured it out."

"Shardsole…." Myles mutters under his breath.

"Stop stalling, Discord! What have you done with the Elements of harmony?"

"Ohhhh so boring, Celestia! Really! Fine, I'll tell you but I'll only tell you…. My way.

To retrieve your missing elements,

Just make sense of this chain of events.

Twists and turns are my master plan,

Then find your foe and the Elements,

Back where you began."

"Twists and turns… I bet he hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!"

Fluttershy look nervously up at the tall hedges that make up the labyrinth.

"W-we have to go in there?"

"Nope!" Rainbow proclaims proudly, "Dopey Discord forgot about these babies!"

She takes off and begins to fly over the maze before her wings vanish and she plummets to the ground. More flashes of light occur next to Fluttershy, Twilight and Rarity as their wings and horns vanish too. Myles raises a hoof and feels his horn, blinking in surprise to find it still in place, then noting a faint gray glow emitting from it. As the girls panic, Discord himself appears in front of them and laughs again.

"You- You should see the looks on your faces! Priceless!"

"Give us our wings and horns back!"

"You'll get them back in good time," Discord says dismissively, "I simply took them to ensure there's no cheating. You see, this is the first rule of our little game: No flying…. And no magic… Ah but of course we don't have to worry about that from you, do we Myles? Even if you broke the rule you wouldn't be able to do much without your precious crystals. Or help from your cave or your meddling friend."

Myles' eyes widen but he is unable to respond before Rainbow cuts him off.

"The first rule?"

"The second rule is… everypony has to play, or the game is over, and IIiii winn. Good luck everypony!"

He laughs again before vanishing. Myles concentrates a moment but stops as Twilight places a hoof on his shoulder.

"Don't Myles, we can't risk it."

"Can't risk using the one advantage he was stupid enough to leave us?"

"No Mahles," Applejack shakes her head, "It's gotta be a trick. And you heard him, if you use magic we lose!"

"The game he set up! We can't let him set the rules or we'll never win!"

"Myles…" Twilight asks curiously, "What did discord mean when he mentioned a cave and another friend?"

He frowns, "I… I…"

"Myles? Is there something wrong?"

"There's no way… he can't have known… and it doesn't matter anyways."

"Myles?"

"C'mon! We don't have all day! We gotta get those Elements!"

"You're right, we've gotta do this… together!"

They all shout as they are separated by hedges that spring from the ground and decide to meet in the center. Myles hesitates as he steps forward.

"How could he know…."

Myles continued to ponder what had been said as he made his way through the maze. His progress was slowed as he distractedly took wrong turns and ran into hedges.

"Why look at Myles… resolutely headed in the wrong direction."

He shakes his head and looks up to see Discord smiling down at him and pointing down an alley with a claw.

"If I were you," Discord bends over and whispers conspiratorially, "I'd head that way."

"The wrong way, you mean."

"No no no! Of course not, see I have a special plan for you, but the last half of it involves you reuniting with your little friends."

"Like I'd follow any…..last… half?"

"Nice to see you're paying attention. Anyway, if you keep wandering I'm going to get bored. Perseverance is nice and all, but some of us have appointments to make and for once I'd rather you not be late to the party. I did want to take this opportunity to thank you personally though."

"Thank me? What's the other half of the plan? What have you done to the others?"

"Oh they're fine, they're just about to realize a few things they should have known long before. And of course I'd like to thank you, for participating in the first half of the plan."

"I'd never help you!"

"See… you say that… but the fact is you already have. But we'll get to that later, for now I just want to point you in the direction of your friends and wish you luck explaining all those little things you've been hiding from them."

He rounds on Discord just as a shout rings out from behind him.

"Myles!"

He turns and is surprised when Twilight wraps her hooves around his neck and hugs him tight.

"I'm so glad to see you again!" she says as he nervously returns the hug, "With your help it'll be a piece of cake finding the others!"

"Always found that expression odd, to be honest," Discord appears as a finely cut hedge sculpture off to the side, examining his leafy claws as he speaks, "Surely one would find the entire cake much more rewarding and it's not like anyone sets up guards around a cake, why would it be so much harder to take the cake?"

Myles grits his teeth as he and Twilight separate to turn to the hedge Discord. Twilight wears an expression of frustration.

"What do you want, Discord? We're already playing your game."

"Partially, yes," he chuckles, "but a game is no fun without some conflict. And for that there needs to be more than one team. Oh," he feigns surprise, "but how quickly I had forgotten…"

He leans in close, his head stopping between them, "Myles' team is the one with all the clues, including the ones he doesn't trust his second wisest friend with."

Myles kicks at the body of the bush, making it fall to pieces as Discord's laughter echoes around them. His expression turns to one of concern as he meets Twilight's suspicious gaze.

"Myles…" she looks him in the eyes, "That's the second time Discord has implied you're hiding something…"

"So?" Myles looked away, "That's his game isn't it? Turn us against each other."

"Then why do you seem so surprised every time he says something like that?"

"Because he starts to sound like…" Myles shakes his head, "That's not important, we have to find the others."

Twilight looks suspiciously at Myles as he walks further into the maze, a pair of eyes watching them both with delight as she follows.

"Applejack! Thank goodness! I thought I heard voices over here!"

Myles followed distractedly as Twilight met up with their friend. They had found her by chance in the maze, since Myles' mind had been racing since they left the spot where discord spoke, despite his dragging hooves from a weariness he couldn't identify. _He's trying to use the secrets I've kept to turn Twilight against me, he's not even hiding it either. I could come clean to Twilight now, but it would risk my friendship with Twilight, and we need that intact to use the Elements against him. He has to know that, _Myles scowls and shakes his head, _but where's he getting his information from? Especially concerning my "dreams" There's no way he could catch the Doctor and I doubt he has the patience to speak with Zecora… so that leaves…  
_"Myles?"

"Why would she…."

"Myles!"

Myles winces as the shout reaches his ears, looking back to an irritated Twilight.

"I said your name four times! I need you to stay focused."

"I am focused."

Twilight frowns, "On our problem, something's wrong with Applejack, I think she's lying to me."

"No ahm not. That's ridiculous."

Myles blinks at her strange tone and looks closer, "Is she… grayer than usual?"

Twilight looks closer and her eyes widen, "She kind of is… that's strange. What do you think Discord did to her?"

"Discord didn't do nutin ta me," Applejack proclaimed as she looked away.

"If we hurry we can stop him from doing it to anypony else!"

"Wait! Myles!" She looks even more frustrated as she mutters to herself, "What are you hiding this time?"

Twilight once again follows the stallion begrudgingly, this time dragging Applejack along behind her.

"Pinkie! Listen we need to- oh….no…"

"Pinkie! We're so glad we found you!" Twilight exclaimed, failing to spot her darker coat.

"Why?! Needed a good laugh?!" Pinkie trots along in a huff through a gap in the hedges.

"What do you think is up with her?"

"I didn' notice nothin' wrong," Applejack stated, looking away again.

"She was gray too, Twilight," Myles looked thoughtfully at the retreating pink pony, "and she seemed… grumpy?"

"Just puzzling isn't it?" The ponies turn to see discord poking his long neck over a hedge, "Ah well," he continues, waving a claw dismissively, "I'm sure you and Twilight can figure it out, just like every time you put your heads together before. Too bad you didn't tell her about the crystals or the blue box. She might've been able to shed some light on that."

Discord cackled as Myles flung a stone at the spot where his head had been instants before, he shook his head and turned, flinching as he came face to face with a stern Twilight Sparkle.

"What aren't you telling me Myles?"

"Twilight I-"

"No excuses this time."

"-I… this time? What?"

"You don't exactly have the best track record with being honest about things you think I shouldn't worry about."

"Such as?"

"The Ursa Major? Your nosebleeds? The starspider? Any of these ring a bell?"

"That's in the past Twilight. I made mistakes, I know, bu-"

"There's no reason for me to believe you aren't making another one now… if not more."

Myles sighs and shakes his head, "Alright, there's some stuff I haven't told you about, sure, but none of it is relevant to what's happening now."

"You can't know that! I think the fact that Discord knows about it is pretty alarming. Just tell me, Myles, so we can work this out together."

"Just tell you? Just like that? Really?! Because clearly I can't make any judgements of my own? Why wont you ever just trust me?"

"Because I've never known the whole truth with you! Some days I feel like you're a totally different pony!"

He growls and trots after Pinkie Pie, "Yeah well sometimes I have to be…"

"What's that supposed to mean…" Twilight muses as she follows him.

"Rarity! Are we glad to see- why are you carrying a humongous boulder?"

"What do you mean, 'boul-der?' This big beauuutiful bedazzling rock is a DIAMOND! And its all mine… Keep your envious little eyes off it! It's mine and I found it fair and square!"

Myles scowls as he gallops past Rarity, "We have to pick up the pace!"

"Myles wait! I need your help! We have to stay together!"

"Oh I'm so sorry Twilight," a voice echoes around them, "but it seems like he wants to avoid stopping to talk. Can't imagine why, it's not as though he knows something you don't about all this… well… except for some things he thinks I _shouldn't_ know, but clearly that's just nonsense."

Twilight grits her teeth and follows Myles.

"Fluttershy? Please tell me you… oh buck…"

Twilight and the others catch up as Myles registers Fluttershy's darker coat and her scowl as she sees the others.

"OH? Woooried about me? I can take care of myself thanks. Much better than any of you. I mean why don't you just wave your magic horns and fix everything? Oh wait!"

She glares at Twilight, "you don't even have one," she then turns to Myles, "And yours doesn't do anything, even when you try!" She punctuates the sentence with a prod to Myles' horn, making him wince.

"Myles," Twilight doesn't meet his gaze, instead looking at the top of his head, "Your horn… it's glowing…"

Myles glances up and frowns, "So?"

"So are you trying to do magic?"

"Not really," he shakes his head again, "Its probably just another trick from Discord, we have to find Rainbow before she-"

"Stop dismissing everything I say!" Myles' eyes widen as he finds himself pinned to the ground by Twilight, "You need to come out of your little world here where you think nopony else needs to know what's rattling around in that thick head of yours! Discord knows more than I do about you apparently! What's the big secret?!"

Myles sighs and gently pushes her off of him, she relents, understanding he isn't planning to run.

"There's not really... any one big secret..." Myles confesses as he stands to his hooves, "It's more like a dozen little things I haven't mentioned to you because I have no idea what they mean yet. Or if they mean anything at all..."

"So the things Discord has mentioned, the blue box, some sort of cave, they're... Real?"

Myles frowns, "That's the biggest problem, I'm not so sure all of them are. I... I didn't want to bother you unless I had proof."

"Well the fact that Discord thinks they're real is pretty worrying. When were you going to tell me you were seeing things?!"

"I wasn't! Look! We can go over this later, it doesn't matter as much as finding Rainbow before she abandons us!"

"Abandons us? Rainbow would neve-"

"Look, there's Rainbow! She's abandoning us!"

"Now I know _that's _a lie," Twilight gasps as they all look up to see Rainbow flying off, "How could it be?"

The hedge maze collapses around them until all of them are left in a crater and are greeted once again by Discord's distinctive laughter.

"Well well well, seems somepony broke the 'no wings, no magic' rule." He snaps his fingers and the rest of them look in surprise as their horns and wings are returned. "Game's over, my little ponies! You didn't find your precious Elements! Looks like we might be due for a big ol' storm of chaos!" He begins laughing again but is cut short as he raises a claw, catching the beam of magic fired at him in a bright orb in front of him.

"Oh Myles," he chuckles, "You do just keep going, don't you? Even when you've been doing more harm than good the whole time. You still don't get it do you?"

"What's to get? All you do is manipulate things to turn us against each other." Myles charges another bolt of magic as his nose bleeds, "I wont let you hurt my friends anymore."

Discord falls to the ground, actually rolling with giddy laughter. Myles rears his head back to fire.

Discord raises a claw, causing Myles to gasp as the magic is drawn away from his horn and into Discord's mismatched hands. Myles stumbles to his knees as Discord cackles louder, licking his claws as if sucking the remains of a delicious meal off of them.

"Thanks again, Myles," he grins, "None of this would have been possible without you, you know."

"What…." Myles gasps as he shakes, trying to stand, "What did you do?"

"Still not figured it out yet? Ah but then I suppose you were too busy protecting precious Twilight."

"You can't…. you can't change her… not like the others… the Elements will still work... You've alreadly lost."

"Elements? Change her… why… Oh… Oh that's just delightful," he encases Twilight in a barrier to keep her from interfering, but allows her to hear and see them, "That whole corruption thing was just a bit of fun, icing on my chaotic cake, so to speak. It was never my real plan. And I just find it so funny that you thought so."

"Then why spend… all this time… and effort to… corrupt them?"

Discord cackles louder, descending to stand in front of Myles, "Just a hobby really, I've been into it for a while now, ever since I tried it for the first time."

"What… what do you…" Myles shivers as his eyelids droop.

Discord leans forward, ruffling Myles mane with a claw and making Twilight shout.

"Get your claws off of him! I wont let you hurt him too!"

"Oh but that's the problem Twilight, my real plan, the one you both refuse to acknowledge. I don't really want to hurt the little scamp, why I think I should give him a reward of some kind for his stalwart service. I've been corrupting your stoic little stallion friend for years now. See," he grins as he steps between them, lifting Myles up by the neck, "I took some time out for fun in messing with you and your other friends because I had ample time, all thanks to Myles."

"What are you talking abo-"

Discord actually sighs, "I know you're both under a lot of stress, but I was really hoping for an 'Ah ha!' moment or something. It's no fun if no one figures out how. It's like you don't even care how I got free."

"Now now," Another voice spoke up, this one sounding more weary as it appeared out of Myles' vision, causing Twilight to gasp with surprise again, "It's not like the even have all the facts to make an intelligent guess." Myles gasped for air as another claw fastened around his neck, lifting him away from Discord to bring him face to face with…

Discord. But not the same Discord. This one had longer, shaggier gray hair and scars running down his long neck.

"Who… Urgh!" Myles grunts as he is thrown to the ground, the elder Discord leaning menacingly over him.

"Oh please," he coughs roughly, "Don't waste my time, you've done enough of that already. It's me, DUHHHH!" The older Discord sticks his tongue out, which seems dry and wrinkled. "After the first time I couldn't let things go and I had plenty of time to think things over."

"First time… I neve-RRRRGH!" Myles curls into a ball as Elder Discord kicks him in the stomach.

"Not YOU, you insufferable colt, the OTHER you! The version of you from my timeline. Anyways, even with all that time on my hands, I still couldn't figure out how to beat all of you at once. So I consulted the only individual I could trust."

"Me," the first Discord piped up, leaning on his double's shoulder, "and after a brief history lesson, we put our heads together to think how best to get me free so we could come up with a way to put an end to you all. As it turns out, other me only needed a little focus to come up with the perfect plan."

"Timelines…. The Doctor…"

"Has been a thorn in our side since the beginning, but it appears he's taken the day off."

"Or…" Eldercord places a foot on Myles' chest, making it difficult to breathe, "He realized what I did all those years ago when this little whelp was born. I'd been going about it all wrong. The problem wasn't figuring out how to beat you. How do you beat something that specializes in never giving up? Something that you can't stop? You don't. You make it work for you."

"I'd neve-"

Myles eyes widen as the younger Discord begins to hum a familiar tune. It starts slow and builds as the notes dance up and down the scale, then another head sprouts from his neck and begins to sing along at a lower pitch, dancing the same dance up and down the musical spectrum. It was a song Myles knew well. He'd stayed up countless nights trying to figure out how he himself had gotten a crystal to record it.

A crystal that stood on his nightstand to this very day, carrying a song he couldn't remember learning but nonetheless had a fondness for.

"Ahhh I think I see that 'ah-ha' moment you were looking for…" Eldercord muses.

Myles gasps as more magic is drawn from his horn into Discord's claw, making the younger one laugh, "Took him long enough, pity I'm too bored to enjoy it now."

"Myles…" Twilight sounds terrified, "What's wrong? How are they… what do they… Did... did you-?"

"Oh allow us," Discord says with a grin, "After all, if he didn't tell you about the crystal chamber or the Doctor, why would he tell you what's happening now?"

"Those aren't real! He said so! This is all a trick!"

"Oh and of course he's been just so reliable up to now. Reliable... but only just... But he probably didn't go over the details of the chamber that he sees in his dreams, the one where all his magical power funnels through, the one that causes his nosebleeds and his sudden bursts of magic after being defeated. The chamber set up by his other friend, the one only he has seen, the one that travels around in a strange blue box. So many secrets, Myles, and why? Because you didn't want to worry her? Or because you never thought she'd believe you? Or perhaps you just don't trust her not to lock you up and study you like a little lab rat? A pity, because aside from your time traveling friend, she may have been your best hope at stopping all this, if only you had spoken up sooner."

"Time travel is a tricky thing, it requires tremendous amounts of energy. It's exceptionally costly," Eldercord grins, revealing a few missing teeth as he lifts Myles in a claw once more, "but the fun part is, once you've got it figured out, you can send the bill anywhere, to anyone, at any _time_."

He turns back towards where he appeared, letting Myles see a swirling blue maelstrom of power forming a portal to a writhing tunnel of dark energy.

"So we both should thank you," Discord chuckles, "For sending me energy since the day you were born."

"Bit-by-bit," Eldercord grumbled.

"Little-by-little. And I passed it along to my older friend here, who used it to break my bonds and bring himself closer and closer to our world."

"Did it never concern you?" Eldercord wheezed in Myles face, "That your magic never improved until you found that chamber? That it tired you so to use it? Did it not occur to you that it might not be lacking as you thought, but simply be going elsewhere? And when you found the chamber, you refused to press your friend for info even when you KNEW he was holding back your power! Lucky for me, since I needed it. I'd have been out decades ago if he hadn't locked most of it away. He slowed my plan, but he couldn't stop the inevitable. He couldn't stop us making you stronger so you could feed us."

"Myles," Twilight looked to her friend in disbelief, "You... you knew all this?"

"Twi- No! I didn't- I couldn't-!" Myles gasped around Eldercord's claw as it tightened suddenly.

"He knew enough," Eldercord cackled, "If he'd told you things might have had to happen sooner, but as it is, all he did was buy you time. His manic ally and him have never had the power to truly stop us. And he definitely can't stop us NOW!"

With this last shout, Eldercord hurls Myles into the portal, where he vanishes in instants down the tunnel. Twilight stands aghast as the two Discords laugh uproariously, leaning on eachother for support as the portal collapses. "And now that our debts are paid…"

"It's time for some good old chaos!"

Twilight collapses to her knees as she sees her last friend sent out of her reach. The Discords let the barrier fall as she realizes the pony she thought was her greatest ally has just been sent out of time itself.

**Whoo boy. Well of course it's going to end sort of like that. As usual, not how I expected it to, but still satisfying. **

**Sorry for the huge delay. Those little real life things I had coming up sort of…. Turned into a massive pile-up and happened all at once. It was a long while before I got the energy and inclination up to write on this again.**

**As I write this, it is the night after the one year mark since I posted the first chapter. I was going to try and finish it then, but something got in the way. Mostly me being stupid. **

**I wasn't going to have two Discords before. Well… not in the same way, but as usual, it didn't turn out that way. As I was writing, I was trying to figure out if Eldercord would sound more like a slightly raspy John De Lancie, or more like John Hurt's War Doctor from Doctor who. Eventually I figured he was somewhere in-between, but feel free to imagine any bitter old heavily-accented actor you like.**

**Anyway you're in luck, because if you're reading this it means I've finished the second chapter of season 2 as well and you can read it right now! If you want to wait a week in suspense, that's up to you, but I couldn't bring myself to force you all to wait when I could have both halves of the story up at once.**

**Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**

**PS- some edits, see note at the end of the second part.**

**PPS- Been a while I know, but I made some small changes again. Again, see part 2.**


	28. Book 2- Ch 2

**I don't own My Little Pony**

Return of Harmony Pt. 2 or No More

Twilight simply stared as her other friends shouted and argued. Their voices sounded distant and muffled as she tried to process what had just happened. Eventually the argument shifted, having been first directed at Discord, then each other as their new warped personalities turned them against the others. Twilight shakes her head and scowls.

"Discord! You're not playing fair!"

The two Discords burst into laughter before the younger one answers, "Not playing fair? Mwa? I'm sorry…"

He zips forward and lifts her chin with a claw, "My name's Discord, spirit of disharmony and chaos? Hellllloooo?"

"How were we supposed to find the elements when you took the labyrinth away before we could find them?!"

"The labyrinth? I… AHHAHAAAHHAHAA! I never said they were in the labyrinth. Oh you and Myles, always so sure you've hit the nail on the head right away. It would be sad if it weren't so funny! HAHAhahahahaeeeahhahahaoooohooo!"

The Discords resumed laughing as Twilight thought back to his riddle.

"Back where you began…. Wait… not where I began…"

She glances to her friends, "Where we began…. Ponyville."

She grabs her friends and drags them to their home, trying to deny that one of them might be gone forever or that he had never been a friend to begin with.

Spike wakes with a start, coughing and gasping for air as he clears his throat of the water that had been dumped on him. "What the- Fluttershy? What did you do that for?"

"Cause you just looked so _peaceful!_"

"Well I- wait what?"

"Spike, I need your help finding something."

"Twilight! What's going on? Why is everyone so… gray?"

"Nevermind that right now," Twilight says as she scoops the dragon up and places him on her back.

"Where's My-"

"NEVERMIND THAT!" She takes a deep breath, shivering as she steels herself for the task ahead, "We need to find the book about the Elements of Harmony."

After struggling to get her friends to give it to her, Twilight finally cracked open the book to find the Elements of Harmony concealed within. She grumbled as her friends fought amongst themselves, furiously distributing the elements to their respective owners until she arrived at the last two. He had said they would still work. He had sounded so sure, but he always was, even when he was lying to her face, apparently. She had to try. She froze in place, staring at the necklace and bracer that remained. She had been about to give them to Spike so he could stand in, but it wouldn't change things. Rainbow was gone… maybe she could trick her into coming back, but Myles… she gritted her teeth, forcing her eyes shut as they began to water. Even if he were… he wouldn't. No time for that now. If she didn't act, there never would be.

Back outside, she had gathered the others in an almost mechanical fashion, ignoring her distress and focusing on the task at hand as much as she could. She had begrudgingly foisted the necklace upon Spike, but not the bracer. It wasn't that Rainbow was more replaceable, but it seemed like it was inappropriate, considering... She gritted her teeth and refocused on using the elements. No time for that now. The Discords had taunted her, even painting a target on the youngest one's chest, but she hadn't listened, she simply waited for their jaws to stop flapping and commanded her reluctant companions to strike.

And now the two Discord's stood smiling as the light faded from the elements and Twilight and her friends descended to the ground. Each of her friends took their leave, rejecting their elements and insulting her in the process. Again she felt distant, they had done this in a sense earlier and they weren't in their right minds, and they wouldn't be able to leave. She looked around, waiting for the expected voice to tell them all they couldn't give up, that it wouldn't let them. That no force in Equestria would stand in the way of it's friends.

The voice never came. And as far as Twilight was concerned, never would, even if it could. Her head sinks as she watches everyone she has left turn away from her. "Fine… leave… with friends like you, who needs…. Enemies…"

A single tear rolled from her eyelid, down her face and struck the ground, forming the shape of a broken heart.

A single drop of that tear bounced from the impact. The tear drop was so small, she would have missed it even if she had been looking. She wouldn't have seen it turn in mid-air, pulled by some unseen force, veering towards the bracer on the ground with no owner.

Even in her despair, she wasn't able to overlook the fact that the bracer once worn by a dear friend began to hum and pulse quietly. One side pulsed brighter. The bright spot turned and adjusted as she turned the bracer, always pointing in the same direction.

To a tower on the edge of town.

Her eyes watered more and she stomped off towards the library, still holding the bracer.

"Pack your things, Spike," Twilight spoke angrily as she dragged out a suitcase and began to fill it, "We're leaving. And don't ask where we're going, 'cause… I don't know yet. Just not here…"

"Urgghhhh… can't move…. The princess… been sending these… since I came back upstairs…." Spike lets out a loud belch and another letter forms from the flames, landing atop a pile of them, "Maaaa-ke it stoooohppp…"

Twilight levitated a letter up to her to read as the dragon whined and squirmed. "These are all the letters I've written to the princess since I moved to Ponyville, but why would she send them back?"

Twilight read on, reliving the moment she came to the realizations she described in each letter, each memory vivid and awakening like a cold bucket of water dumped over her head and slowly remembering the bonds she'd formed over the past year with all her friends.

"Spike! It's all so clear!" She levitated the dragon up to her and embraced him, "The Discords are trying to distract us from what's important! They know how powerful our friendships are! Trying to keep us from seeing it!"

Her face fell as a realization hit her, "He was right…."

"Ughhhh…. Who?"

"M-m…he….tried to tell me…but I didn't believe him… because I thought he was hiding everything from me… and now… he's…."

Twilight sniffed, but then blinked as she spotted a package that sat at the bottom of the pile of letters. She hadn't remembered sending it to the princess. She picked it up with her magic and peeled back the wrapping, revealing another letter and a crystal. She unraveled the letter and began to read.

_My dearest student, Twilight Sparkle,_

_As I write this I feel conflicted, I want to share with you what I've learned, but I've been informed that it is the utmost importance that you be kept in the dark until another time. Those exact words. The same phrase he used… I didn't want to hide Myles' findings from you, believing him to be misguided. I abhor the fact that I even hesitated, Myles clearly wasn't well enough to make such a decision. Or so I thought. But perhaps it wasn't his decision to make at all.  
_

_But that was hours ago, when you left one of your friends exhausted on his bed because he insinuated you didn't trust him. Probably to hide the very crystal you now gaze upon.  
_

_As it is, if you're reading this, it means the time I've been told of has arrived. I'm not sure what to believe right now, but in the face of all that I have been told, I can make only one choice. I was stopped from giving you this. By a peculiar earth pony with an hourglass for a cutie mark. He speaks fast and doesn't make sense all of the time, but he was very insistent that you were not to know until "another time," a phrase that stuck with me, as it was the same phrase Myles used just a few hours before, where this pony was not present. He also insists that I mention him as "a madpony with a blue box" but the only name or title he identifies by is "Doctor."_

_Regardless, you now hold the information Myles recorded that night, though I imagine it will reveal much more to you than it did to me._

_Your humble teacher,_

_Princess Celestia_

Twilight blinked as she looked down to see more writing below this, clearly made by a different pony.

**_Best have a listen after you follow the bracer. Things will go smoother that way. –D_**

Twilight carefully wraps the crystal in the letter and picks up the bracer, following the brighter point towards Myles' house. She keeps her grim expression as she follows it to the crystal forge in her former friends basement. She wasn't sure in what sense she meant "former" any longer, since clearly this Doctor had hidden information from Myles and even Celestia, but either way, he was no longer here to help.

Twilight truly believed and accepted this fact. Right up until she touched the crystal, and the friend in question appeared before her, ragged and clearly exhausted after a fight long since past. The way he'd looked when she had gotten back from the running of the leaves. The way he'd looked the night she later found out he'd fought the Ursa Major. She sat down, watching her friend speak to her, shivering as she realized these would be his last words to her.

"I know this is … Twilight's field of research but… I'm not sure how to tell her this without causing her undue stress, and at the same time I feel it should be recorded somewhere. I believe I've learned something about friendship. You have to be able to forgive ponies. Or anything else. They have their own problems and you can't know all of them, but those problems are there. They're dealing with their issues when you walk into their lives and all of that is on them when they interact with you. Even if what they do or say seems like an attack on you personally, you are just a small part of what they are seeing right now. No matter how much what they did hurts or for how long, it wasn't all for you, it was the sum of their troubles up to that point. This applies to strangers and friends alike, but there's a world of difference between the two."

The flickering magical projection of Myles pants a few times and takes a deep breath before continuing.

"Because a stranger you may never meet again. You will never know those other problems and you will never worry about being hurt by them again. Forgiving a stranger is easy. Forgiving a friend is much harder because you know those other problems. You know the weight they carry and they know yours and they still hurt you. And because you are friends and you know their troubles you might not say anything, but that just adds it to the pile of your own problems that you bring to the next encounter with them. You both hurt and you both bring that pain unless you forgive each other. If you forgive them you have more room for their troubles. Even if they don't forgive you, you can help them if you forgive them first. But it's difficult, because the hurt of that action and all other actions are still there. So there's always the temptation to…" Myles inhaled and shakily continued, "To make them into strangers. Because then it's easy to forgive them, because you'll never have to deal with them again. You never know their pain and you don't add your own to it anymore, because it's too much to see them hurt. And maybe… deep down… you hold onto the pain, because no matter how much you understand about what they were going through, you're… frightened… of it happening again. You want to avoid the pain and you hide away."

Twilight hugged the bracer tight to her chest as she listened, her eyes streaming tears as she listened.

"I-…you can't do this to yourself. Nopony was meant to bear that pain alone and all it does is make you bitter and angry. So you have to take a chance and open yourself up to others. You have to try and endure the small bits of pain that come with opening up until you find those who'll be there for you because without help… you might find you've become something you don't want to be." Myles chuckled a bit before continuing, "And there will be other problems, other barriers that you may not be able to overcome on your own, but that's why you make more friends, because you need more friends to share your troubles with. The more friends you have, the less each one has to bear. But the best friends would bear it all if you asked them and that's the trouble, you can't let them carry you because for all you know it might destroy them."

He shudders a bit and his knees shake. His eyes water slightly before he blinks the moisture away and continues. _"Sometimes I have to be…"_ Twilight shivers as she remembers his words from earlier before the recording goes on.

"Ponies keep telling me I'm strong, that I'm amazing or special in some way. And maybe they're right in some cases, but they don't know everything. Strength comes at a cost. Sometimes the cost is little and sometimes it's great. Often, you don't know how much it'll cost until you have to pay. I had a moment of weakness today and I fear I may have become something… undesirable… but I hope to be able to forgive those that hurt me before with the help of my new friends. And maybe… in time… they can forgive me for what I've done to others, though I cannot muster the strength to admit it to them tod-" Myles glanced to the side at something Twilight couldn't see, "Tonight. But I know this, I am _not _strong," he shakes his head, "I'm going to need help and I don't think I can make he- them… suffer through it. Deepest apologies for laying all this on you, but please don't tell Twilight and the others. I'm not really sure if that counts as a lesson on friendship, it doesn't all make sense to me." He smiled a bit, making Twilight smile a little through her sadness, "I rambled a bit, didn't I? Oh well. I feel better and I hope this made enough sense to be a worthwhile contribution to the study of friendship. Maybe someday I'll make sense of it as well. For now, it's enough to know that somepony else will know."

Twilight hugged the bracer tight as the image flickered away and collapsed to the floor, managing exactly one sob before she noticed that one hoof had landed on a dark blue envelope.

Myles groaned.

He took a moment to appreciate his ability to groan before exercising this freedom again.

"Is he in pain?"

"He'll be fine soon enough. Probably just dizzy from lack of oxygen."

"Where did he come from?"

"What do you mean? You saw him before I did, just drifting through the time vortex! And not a manipulator of any kind anywhere on his person. Why the sheer cheek! It's fairly irresponsible. And just a little fantastic."

"Ughhh…. Would you shut up for once, Doctor?" Myles groans again, this time more to express his annoyance rather than any lingering discomfort.

"Oh…." Myles opens his eyes at the strange tone in the stallion's voice, blinking in surprise at shorter pony with barely any mane to speak of and a lighter tone of coat but a similar hourglass cutie mark, in addition to a grey pegasus he found vaguely familiar, "That, on the other hand, that's troubling…"

Twilight shakily opens the envelope to find the same writing from the bottom of the Princess' note.

**_A few steps to the left, if you don't mind Ms. Sparkle, and make sure I don't see this or the other letter. Spoilers, you know? –D_**

Twilight blinks in confusion as she scoots to her left.

"Ditzy doo? What're you doing here? You know the Doctor?"

"How do you… wait…"

"You do know him? Good, otherwise this was going to get needlessly complex very fast."

"He looks like the guy that just arrived in town last mon- well… the day before you picked me up. Some unicorn that was trained by Celestia but hadn't made any progress in forever, so she sent him out to Ponyville to clear his thoughts. Only…." She looked at Myles carefully "He looks less tired and more… beaten up… plus he didn't have those goggles or that doohickey before."

"Ah. Well that makes things easier. Does this ring any bells Mr…?"

"What do you mean? Why do you look different? You know who I am."

"Myles something…. I still haven't gotten his last name right."

"Shardsole…" Myles grumbles, "And I've been protecting ponyville for over a year now."

"Protecting?"

"Yes Ditzy Doo, like I always ha-… wait….

"Yeah, I mean my name is Der-"

"Shush," the Doctor covers the pegasus' mouth with a hoof, "this is too fantastic."

"You sound different, you look different, you're here with Ditzy Doo, who barely knows me… and the only reason I know you is because… ughhhhhh….."

"Time travel," the doctor sighs, "it gets…. Wibbly sometimes… I know."

"But you look olde-"

"Shush! Spoilers!" The doctor looks smug, "Though no harm in knowning I'm only going to look better next time around. This might not be the form you know, but it's still me. I'm sure I had a great reason to talk to you, but doing more so now only puts us all in more danger so… You said a year… correct?" The light brown pony asks as he begins throwing levers on the console in the center of the room.

"Well a bit more, actually."

"It's important that you're specific while not revealing anything to me. WAIT!"

The Doctor takes a notepad out of his coat and raises an eyebrow at a peculiar shape.

"I expect you left rather abruptly and not of your own accord, while a friend watched?"

"Uh… Yeah.. I mean I hope we're still friends. Anyways, there were a couple months more… but it won't matter… sending me back will only-"

"Nevermind," the Doctor grins, "I know exactly where and when you need to be."

The room shakes and the familiar noise echoes around them before everything stops. The Doctor opens the doors to reveal Myles crystal forge. Myles eyes' widen as he steps out.

"How did you kn-OW!" He grunts as he is pushed out of the door. Said door shuts behind him and the box begins to fade away.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Spoilers," the Doctor says sternly, "Can't get tangled up in my own future… that'd be bad for everypony."

"Okay… then how'd you know where to take him?"

The Doctor gives the gray pegasus the notepad.

"Your psychic paper?"

"Somepony left me a message and I checked the number. Simple really."

Derpy Doo places a hoof on the page, blinking in surprise as it comes away wet, slightly smudging the image of a broken heart shaped from water soaking into the page.

"But how does that…"

"Spoilers."

"Riiight…" She blinks as she flips the page, "Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Does the word 'Timberwolf' mean anything to you? Seems like I've heard it before. A lot, actually."

Myles looks back and sighs in frustration as the box fades away. "As usual Doc, you offer no help for the immediate situation, but probably just did something I'll be thankful for later… if you haven't doomed us all now, that is."

"M-m…"

Myles blinks as he turns to see Twilight Sparkle, her face stained with tears, looking stunned and standing just to the left of where the blue box had dropped him off.

"Myles…"

"Twilight… I… I'm so sorry I just… I …" He shakes his head and begins to focus on the crystal at the center of the room, "Nevermind… the longer I'm here, the more powerful the Discords become…"

"Myles!"

Myles turns just in time for Twilight to fling her hooves around him and squeeze him so tight that he once again has difficulty breathing once again.

"T-Twi-! C-Can't… breathe!"

She gasps and loosens her grip a little.

"Sorry…"

He coughs and gasps, taking in air again, "S'fine… but-"

"I forgive you."

Myles freezes. "Wh-What?"

Twilight pulls away, but keeps her face close, staring him in the eyes as she speaks. "Whatever you did or might do, whatever you might have become or think you're becoming, I forgive you for anything you do. You're my friend Myles, and nothing will ever change that."

Myles eyes' shake and water, but he shakes his head, "That doesn't change the fact that he's feeding off of me. The longer I'm here, the more powerful he becomes. Both of him."

Twilight grins, "That was the Doctor, correct?"

"What?"

"The blue box…" she holds up an envelope that is the same shade of blue as the box she referred to, "I think he left me a message. Well… Him and Celestia."

Myles blinks, "Twilight, listen! It doesn't matter what they did, we have to find a way to cut off the link with-"

"Of course it matters what they did," she smirks, "because if they didn't, I wouldn't be here in just the right place when you got back to help."

"Yes! Help! Okay," Myles sighs, "Now how do I get back into that vortex?"

"Not the plan," Twilight smiles again, "Sorry in advance."

"Sorry for wh-" He is cut off as a blinding flash makes him lose consciousness.

He groans as he comes to in a familiar chamber. He blinks and stands up, shocked at the sight before him.

"Well… she made that insultingly easy, didn't she?"

He gazes at the three crystals, whose cracks finish sealing shut before him as he gazes around the crystal chamber. He jumps a bit when he sees Twilight blink into existence, stumbling a bit as she arrives.

"Not as easy as you think," she shakes her head, "And I'm pretty sure I had some help."

"Wait… how'd you hear that? How'd we get here?"

"You talk in your sleep. You took the usual way, I followed your consciousness here. Only took a few tries. Not bad for attempting a spell I've only read about before."

"And you had help?"

"I think so…" She bites her lip, "that last time I felt a pull towards this location."

"By who?"

"Spoilers."

The voice echoes from the chamber and the crystals within.

"You heard that too, right?" Myles askes with a shiver.

"Yeah… And I think that pondering too hard over who it sounded like might be a bad idea. Now… these crystals… they hold you back?"

"I…. I think so… I spoke to Luna a few times while I was here… and then the Doctor… before he locked me out. I'd gotten as far as realizing they were connected to my magic, because harmonizing one gave me a boost in power."

"Hmmm…. And they locked you out before you changed the others, am I right?"

"Yeah…"

"So if these crystals are made to restrict your magic use, why even give them a way to be harmonized with you… unless…"

"Unless it was a… a failsafe? Just in case I needed more?"

"But not too much more, or you'd risk giving it all to Discord… So if harmonizing one gave you a small measure of power back, if you can harmonize them all, you'd be back to full strength."

"But so would Discord," Myles said with a frown.

"Possibly," she pursed her lips in thought, "but how long do you think it would take him to realize that?"

Myles frowns, "Probably not until he tried to draw more from me."

"Good. Get to work," Twilight begins glowing, "I'll get the others and come back for you."

He nods and pauses, "Twilight?"

She blinks and looks at him, concern lacing her voice, "Yes Myles?"

"Th-thanks for not giving up on me."

"It was about time someone did it for you, after all the times you never gave up on us. Glad I could help." She vanishes and Myles turns to the cavern.

"Now… Let's make some noise."

"Twilight gathers her friends, using the reminders she'd received of her own lessons to show them all what made them friends. They reunited and lassoed Rainbow Dash after a thrilling chase, all coming together save one, with their last hope of friendship's power in place as they strode forth to meet their conniving foe. Euuuuughhhh. GAA-AG! Who writes this garbage? I've read children's novels less cliché than this," Discord tosses the book over his shoulder, revealing Twilight and her friends stepping forward to challenge him.

"I mean honestly, you tried this before and you're STILL missing somepony this time. Have you learned nothing?"

"I'll tell you what we've learned, Discord," Twilight speaks up, "We've learned that friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt it's worth fighting for."

"Fine. Go ahead, try and use your little elements, 'frenemies,' just make it quick, I'm missing some excellent chaos here!"

"Alright, lets show 'em what friendship can do!"

"Waitwaitwait!"

They turn to watch Pinkie Pie hold her tongue out under a cloud pouring chocolate rain before she rushes back to their side. The elements shine and resonate with each other, shooting beams of light into the sky that arc and strike Discord, who yawns nonchalantly.

"Not quite enough, is it? Ah well, you had no hope without all of the elements."

A voice issues from behind the others.

"No hope? Nothing to make you want to keep going? Not enough resources to get the job done?"

Discord's eyes widen as he see's Myles step up behind the others. "What?! HOW?!" Discord shouts as he stands up and prepares to attack. Myles' bracer glows and a light pours from it into the sky as he smirks.

"Sounds like a Tuesday to me."

The final beam of light arcs towards Discord who shouts as the magic pours over him and his body convulses. He lets out a shout of "NOOOOOOO!" as a stone casing crawls from his tail, up his torso and neck to his face, which freezes in the expression of shock he was wearing. The rainbow of energy spreads over Ponyville and restores it to normal once more as the ponies drift peacefully to the ground. Discord, encased in stone once more, lands with an undignified thud.

"Well… that worked out according to plan."

"Forgetting someone?"

Eldercord calls out as he lifts Myles up by the throat once more. "You've only made things simpler you know, I was going to have to take care of him, cant have two rulers of chaos, can we? I don't know how you survived the vortex, but since you're here, you probably wouldn't mind making a small donation to the make-Discord-all-powerful fund!"

He holds a claw over Myles horn, his eyes widening as it shimmers brightly. "Astounding! You actually had the gall to bring your full power? You must have known I could take it from you! You've doomed everypony you know!"

Myles writhes as the others look on in horror, watching their friend squirm in the grip of their greatest foe, all his magic pouring into the creature as he shouts.

"Twilaight…"

"C'mon Myles…"

The power flickers and fades as Myles falls limp. The girls gasp as he is dropped like a ragdoll to the ground. Discord's flesh knits back together, his scars healing and his wrinkles smoothing out as his hair became healthy once more. He laughed with more energy than his younger self had, lightning and magic spraying from his claws as he cackled, spinning in a circle as the sky darkened. Suddenly he stops as a sound reaches his ears.

He bends over the weakened pony on the ground, looking curiously at him as he shakes, not with pain, but with an unmistakable chuckle.

"Hehheheahahhahaa…. I cannot believe… you actually fell for that."

"What is this nonsense?"

"See defeating the other Discord was just to draw you out, make you make your power play. Take everything I had. _You _ were always the plan."

"You're beaten, deluded! Stop spewing your drabble!" Discord looked worried even as he mocked Myles.

"I didn't have to do anything. You'd helped me win before we even started. Well… you and the Doctor."

"That unspeakable madpony? He can't even help himself!"

"Maybe not," Myles grins as the air around them ripples with magic. The other ponies step back as the floor of a cave, composed of pure crystals, all humming in harmony with such volume that everypony for miles around could hear, appeared around Discord and Myles. Discord attempted to fly away, but was drawn towards the crystals by a force that he recognized came from within himself. "But he didn't have to do much. Just keep me in check until another time, the right time. So here we are."

"And now I have the source of your power!"

"Is that what you think these are? You said yourself they were holding me back, I just unlocked them all."

"But you gave me control over them! Absolute control!" Discord raves with less and less certainty.

"See… there's another thing that's interesting about these crystals. You've been pulling on them my whole life. Tugging at my power, sucking away little-by-little so you could bring yourself here. You've even dragged my power through time itself. You've left traces. You were always connected to that power, but now that you're so close, the connections are almost visible, and I can definitely feel them. Like strings... strings drawn tight from being stretched too far. All they need is a little tug."

Eldercord is pulled onto one of the crystals, which hums angrily beneath him. The other crystals shake and hum louder and louder, cracks forming on the surfaces of some of the closer ones.

"Thing is…" Myles turns back to Discord, grinning, "Time travel is fairly costly magic, and you can send the bill to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. But it's not their bill to pay, and if they notice the charge," Myles grins as some crystals shatter, the shards spinning around Discord, pouring power to the air behind him and forming a portal just like the one he'd arrived in, "They're gonna send that bill right back."

"Y-you can't! I'll die out there! AUGHGHHH!" Discord howls as energy is drained from his body, making him age rapidly to his former ragged self, his scars opening as fresh wounds.

"You should be so lucky, but I'm pretty sure someone like you will survive. You've taken from me my whole life. You take and take and take and you don't expect anyone to stand in your way." The cracks in the remaining crystals behind Myles form letters, making up a short phrase that seems to pulse with one unified voice from each and every crystal. "You made me what I am, and I guess on some level I should be grateful for that, but you also caused me so much pain and sadness that could have been avoided, just to feed your lust for power. And now you want to keep feeding? Now you want more?! Well I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to stop. You've had enough. You know what you get?"

Discord gasps as the portal widens, light pouring from the letters behind Myles that pulse as he speaks them aloud with every crystal they are carved into.

"NO MORE!"

Discord howls in despair as the cracked crystals shatter, whipping around him and dragging him into the portal. Screaming as his form is hit by a wave of crystal that swirls into the portal after him. The main mass of crystal and Discord spiral out into the vortex spreading out as indistinguishable dust before fading completely. The portal collapses and wind whips past them all as air is sucked into the shrinking opening before it becomes a single point that evaporates with a small burst of air and magic. A row of barely visible crystals behind him fades into nothing, their hums becoming varied and disharmonized as they fade.

"Check please," Myles grins as the others rush forward, hugging him tightly and cheering.

"Myles?" Twilight speaks up, "That wasn't part of the plan."

"Sorry…." He looks nervous, "Had to make a last minute adjustment."

Twilight smiles, "Well I'm glad it worked out. But weren't those crystals connected to your magic?"

Myles shakes, "Yeah… that was the reason I didn't mention…I um…. I don't actually know if that will work anymore. Not as well anyways. I've got a few left..."

"If what will work?"

"My magic. Might've been tied into the crystals…"

The girls look shocked but Twilight rolls her eyes and hurls a rock at Myles face. He gasps and winces in preparation, his eyes blinking open as the rock floats in front of him, enveloped by a vivid silvery-blue field of magic.

Twilight smirks, "Looks a lot better now actually. Looks like even you need to trust you sometimes. There were still some crystals left."

"Yeah..." Myles frowns, "I was trying to get rid of them all but... I couldn't reach some... I had full power for a bit but... I dunno..."

"It seemed to work magnificently anyways... and that's not even the best part."

"It's not?"

Twilight grins and places a hoof on his snout. "No blood."

Myles grins back and they resume celebrating.

Myles glances around nervously as they all walk up the aisle of the main hall in Canterlot Castle. Had they done this after Luna? None of his friends had ever mentioned such a thing. He tried to straighten up as the Princess begins to speak.

"We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism, of these seven friends, who stood up to the villain Discord and his double, and saved Equestria, from eternal chaos!"

The Princesses horn lit up and curtains pulled aside to reveal a new stained glass mirror. This one depicted the seven of them turning Discord to stone, as well as another Discord falling into a portal, followed closely by a stone with the words "No more" carved into its surface. Myles shifts nervously at the inclusion of this detail, only standing up straight when Twilight nudges him playfully. _Maybe next time I'll try to get knocked out. This is a bit much…_

**PHEW! Done! It's much later on the same night and you know what? This is long overdue, so I'm not gonna delay and double and triple check this, I'm just gonna post it. Seriously, why do I plan any of these? Maybe half of this somewhat resembles my original plan.**

**I may go back and change the last chapter a bit, just to make the connection a bit more clear. Or I might put it in a future chapter. Hopefully the important part got across.**

**I'm even more hopeful that this was unexpected by some of you. Or at the very least you enjoyed it. Feel free to let me know in a friendly way what you thought of it.**

**But yeah, it was the unlikely duo of Discord and ….Discord… As I mentioned last chapter, Eldercord wasn't originally supposed to be involved past the point of freeing Discord and telling him the plan, but I kind of prefer him this way, he's a little more menacing and it gave something to Myles to do to wrap up the whole crystal cavern thing. I considered leaving the question of his magic working in the air, for about two seconds. I've thrown enough at you for the last two chapters. Even just in this chapter. You probably stopped falling for it before the last one.**

**Oh and don't think the rest of the season will be boring. I've got plans for other episodes and inevitably they will get derailed, but I wouldn't post it if I didn't like it a little bit. Like I said, the last chapter seemed a little on the short side, but maybe I'm asking too much of myself.**

**As it stands, Lesson Zero may or may not get covered by years end, depends on how things work out and if I can figure out what to do with it. It's among my favorite episodes of the show, but once again Myles simply being present kind of throws a monkey wrench into the works.**

**So maybe he won't be. Maybe he will be. Maybe somewhere in between. Spoilers.**

**Seriously, even I don't know yet. And just in case, Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all! Hope you enjoy the story! And keep doing so!**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**

**PS- Greetings from 2016! There were a few things about these two chapters that bugged me so I've taken the liberty of cleaning some things up and adding some things. I think I have most of them now. I also made a small change to save some of the crystals. There was a reviewer who sounded disappointed they were gone, but that's not the reason I changed it, although I'd like to thank them for speaking up because they reminded me of something I still wanted to do with them. As you know, normally I roll with any changes or mistakes I make, but I think this will work out better. Also it doesn't make it seem like all this nonsense about stuff happening in Myles past and future is over. **

**Because it isn't. I think. We'll see how it turns out. I kind of rushed these chapters last year because it had been a while and I wanted some progress. This year I hope to get several chapters ahead again before I start posting stuff. Just so I can gauge how things work out a bit better and make sure the chapter isn't annoying for me to read.**

**PPS- Yes I'm still alive! It's been forever I know, but real life and writers block kept getting in the way. I had actually planned to make much larger changes to these two chapters, but in the end just decided to make smaller alterations. It's not that detailed, but its an ensemble episode, so thats to be expected. I did want Twilights lack of trust in him to come across better, and hopefully that worked out. Now to go type out the one story thats been holding me back this whole time.**


	29. Book 2- Ch 3

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

"Myles," Twilight calls out desperately as she bursts through the stallion's door, "We need to go over what happened! I need to write about my findings to Princess... Celestia?"

Frowning at a half eaten breakfast, she considered he might be dealing with some creature in the forest, but then she spotted his bracer laying on the counter as well. She resolved to check the other floors to make sure he hadn't simply fallen asleep. Myles rarely locked his door and hadn't had any objections to her waking him before, so this time would likely not be any different. Probably.

She had taken a step forward and almost slipped on an envelope. A dark blue envelope.

She sighs and opens the envelope, growling and letting both it and the letter fall to the ground as she runs out of the door to look for her other friends. Myles wasn't going to be available and she was running out of time.

The crystal embedded in the door frame pulls the door shut again, cutting off the light illuminating the letter written in a familiar scribble.

**Mr. Shardsole has an appointment he has to keep, wont be long. -D**

Lesson Zero or Bugged

Hours prior to Twilight's visit, Myles ignored the remains of his cooling breakfast on the table. He had gotten halfway through when he'd seen it, or heard it, or perceived it, he still wasn't sure which or that it wasn't all of them.

A sliver of distortion. A tiny bit of strangeness. One small detail he'd failed to see up to now. At this point he'd made so many discoveries as the result of him looking at things the wrong way he was beginning to wonder why he didn't just scrap every first method he came up with and go straight to plan B. Of course he was long past plan B at this point and none of those plans had involved viewing the phenomenon at mid-morning, the only time the light hit his window just right and bent at the precise angle to make it the most visible. Myles could still see it, but it was no longer as obvious as it was when he first spotted it. If he hadn't known where to look, he wouldn't have been able to spend the last hour examining it.

An almost imperceptible set of lines seeming to hang in the air right next to the pillars that were originally built to frame his home's elevator. The place where the Blue Box had been and the Doctor had told him there was a disturbance. The place he'd been puzzling over as it generated the same noise as his crystals only with no apparent source. And now he had found it, a shape formed from a field invisible to the naked eye save for the edges where light bent just enough to make the colors you saw through it shift one tiny bit to the side along the lines. It was as if there was a piece of the world not quite in place, just hanging there in space and yet sticking out like a puzzle piece that doesn't quite fit right, it's seams showing the shape of the piece itself and breaking the full picture up just a little.

That had been fascinating enough to Myles as he spotted it, but it was what he discovered upon taking a closer look that he couldn't get out of his head. For the first time since it happened, Myles was fully focused on something other than his past with Discord.

The shape of the field was enough to contain the Doctor's mysterious box, and yet it took the form of a large upright crystal. The sounds he'd been hearing had mostly been the residual energy reverberating throughout this shape. It was larger than any crystal he'd ever seen outside of books describing the Crystal Empire. He had stood in it before seeing the shape with no adverse effects, so he examined the shape from inside as well, leading to his discovering the source of the rest of the sound he'd heard. The surface of this crystal shape, especially the edges, reverberated at multiple different tones, all in harmony with each other at frequencies higher than he'd ever even imagined before. It wasn't made of crystal and it wasn't made of air.

It was made of sound, vibration, energy. It was formed not of the air molecules inside, but of the sound itself, and the energy and sound inside the crystal was contained only by this vibration.

Sound bouncing off of itself. The crystal he'd been staring at for months now without realizing it was formed of echoes and yet it _kept going_.

Consequently, his mind had been racing with possibilities unlocked by this discovery, Crystal magic without crystals, bound only by it's own power and yet still functional without an outside source. The energy was different and yet the same, not what he had been looking for but similar enough to comprehend. It changed the game entirely, as if the magic he'd been working with went only up and down, and he'd suddenly discovered how to move back a few feet and to the left. It was as if he'd checked a thermometer and gotten a reading of a magnetic field from two days in the future. Everything he'd learned up to now told him this should be impossible, part of him was still pretty sure it was.

But it was here because of the Doctor, so impossible seemed a relative term, especially now. He had talked about it like it was a gift and Myles now finally knew what he was unwrapping, or at least he had an inkling.

The power that could be contained was more than he'd dealt with before from a single source, even the Elements of Harmony were divided into an array of seven pieces and he was certain that they also worked with a kind of magic neither he or Twilight could yet quantify or fully understand. He would have considered using it to power an array that covered the forest and Ponyville, but the image of a piece of the world shifted just a smidge kept popping into his mind.

After all, if one piece could be displaced just a little, why couldn't more pieces move? Why couldn't they move farther? And why couldn't two pieces of the same size be swapped?

To his credit, Myles explored the field with his magic, measuring it and feeling it out carefully before resolving to test his theory, thus choosing a space of appropriate size to try to get to just outside his home. Fortunately, the field left behind had stabilized since being formed, ensuring that most every variable outside Myles' control was taken care of.

Unfortunately, much like time travel, teleportation is a finicky process and the slightest error could be disastrous. Myles would later reflect on how lucky he was that his mistake only resulted in him missing his target by several hundred miles.

The world around him blurred and spun, but he had flashes of clarity that were somewhat alarming. For an instant he was falling over an active volcano, then scattering a school of frightened fish under the ocean as the air around him floated away in a bubble before he flashed to the next spot. The crystal shaped section of water that came with him fell to the ground when he appeared on some sort of pavement, he was briefly disoriented as he gasped for breath, clutching his fingers to his chest, right before he took in enough oxygen to remember what was wrong with that sentence. He had just enough time to be relieved to come crashing to his hooves on solid ground a moment later before he was knocked out from the impact.

"No no no. He's unrelated, I assure you."

"You expect us to believe you? The hive was bad enough but now you ponies keep showing up and we're supposed to believe you have nothing to do with it?"

"No. I mean yes, but I didn't mean we were before-"

"So you are involved!"

"Well if you'd pay attention you'd realize I just said we weren't before now."

"Doesn't matter! If you're part of this you have to go!"

"Go whe- AH! I get your meaning now. I think you'll find that a faulty decision on your part."

"And why's that?"

Myles groans as he opens his eyes, his vision clears as he adjusts to the light.

"TELL ME!"

Myles grits his teeth as the shout echoes in his ear and his vision spins. His surroundings become crystal clear as adrenaline courses through his veins. He glares up and a griffon lifting a tall, thin pony into the air with one claw. The pony had a leg looped through the claw alongside his neck to keep himself from being choked.

"Because my friend here has just been on his first teleport ride. Nasty thing, takes some getting used to. Nearly everybody gets a headache their first time."

"WHY SHOULD I CARE?!"

Myles cringed and ground his teeth as his horn lit up.

"Because he also has rather sensitive hearing..."

"AND?!"

"Well ... he does get rather cross when people get shouty, which is what you are right now, isn't it?"

"One warning," Myles growled.

"SHUT UP YOU LITTLEEEAAHHHHH!"

The griffon's exclamation lengthens into a shout of surprise as it's back feet glow silvery blue and are dragged from under it. It manages one last squawk of protest before it is flung bodily down the street, dropping the thin pony in surprise before take off.

"Only one," Myles breathed as he braced himself for confronting the thin pony with an hourglass cutie mark.

"That seemed a bit excessive," the thin pony remarked as it brushed itself off, "But I suppose that's your style, isn't it?"

"Discord's gone. So why are you still here? Why the new face?"

"Discord? Wait wait wait..."

"Doctor?"

"No no nononoooooo shut up!"

"Doctor, I'm really not in the mood for this."

"Then shut up, shut up, shut uppity up up up!"

Myles glares at the Doctor in much the same way he usually glared at whatever unfortunate beast woke him by straying near Ponyville around 3 A.M. The Doctor recoils a bit, his thick eyebrows hiding his surprise behind a constantly grumpy facade as he leans to the sides and examines Myles face, avoiding eye contact. He frowns.

"On the subject of looks... did you do something with your hair?"

Myles snorts in contempt.

"Right, first teleport. Sorry, I forgot."

"How did you-?"

"Very distinct expression, really," the Doctor went on casually, "Just the right mix of surprise, relief, anger, triumph and reaction to headache that just screams 'I've just had my molecules relocated all at once and it was more unpleasant than I expected.'"

Myles' eyes narrow and his expression sours more.

"Well? Go on. De-shut-up."

"Discord's gone and you've got a new face and you seem surprised that I brought it up but not confused so... I take it you're farther ahead than I am?"

"You really should stop being so quick on the uptake," the Doctor furrowed his eyebrows at his response, "It'll get you into trouble someday."

"That just general advice or a warning about my future?"

"Almost definitely both. Now come on, we should relocate. The locals aren't too happy with your handiwork," the doctor nodded down the street Myles had flung the griffon along, several large doors opening to reveal yet more irate expressions and beaks clacking with anger, "Now my advice would be to... oh..."

The Doctor smirks at the retreating pony before galloping off after him, shouting as he caught up, "And here I had assumed you didn't pay attention to me."

"I certainly try not to."

The Doctor pants heavily as he stops next to Myles at the mouth of a cave, "Okay fair point, you are faster then."

"What?"

"Sorry... Argument we haven't had yet, probably."

"Do you maybe want to start explaining what you're doing here instead of messing with my timeline some more?"

"Messing with? What's all this business about messing? I was helping you and everyp-"

"You've got a funny definition of 'help,'" Myles cut him off with a particularly stern glare, finally rendering the Doctor speechless for a moment. The thin pony actually hesitates before speaking again.

"How soon is it si-"

"Since I found out my entire life had led up to a moment where I was the lynch-pin in a plan that would have the world overtaken by a time traveling, reality hopping psychopath?"

The Doctor nods apprehensively.

Myles shrugs, "Bout a week," he says and grits his teeth for a moment, "What about you? How have you been? How's time holding up? Still going the right way I hope."

"Now I understand you're quite angr-"

The Doctor coughs as he picks himself off of the ground, brushing dust off of himself once again and rubbing the spot on his cheek where a hoof-shaped bruise was quickly forming.

"You really, _really_ don't," Myles laughs mirthlessly, "And I wonder how many times you're going to make the mistake of saying so before you understand that."

"Look," The Doctor begins hesitantly, "What I meant to say-"

"Where are we?"

"-was that... Pardon?"

"Where are we. Right here and now. Also when is now? Since I generally take that for granted but I suppose with you around it's not even necessarily a given."

"Just outside Griffonstone," the Doctor remarks with a frown, "And you needn't worry, you only traveled in space, not time. I'd hardly have left you with a method to do that after..."

"After whatever you're not going to tell me this time," Myles grinds his teeth, "Fine. Keep your secrets."

"Some things we're better off not knowing."

"I'm aware of that," Myles grumbles, "Have fun in Griffonstone then," He turns and walks back the way they came.

"Where are you off to?"

"Ponyville," Myles calls over his shoulder, "Where I should be right now."

"You're not the least bit curious about why I'm here?"

"Why are you anywhere?"

"Not the least bit interested in the scene that took place in Griffonstone?"

"Well that was only the second griffon I've ever met," Myles sighed as he stopped and turned to cast another angry glare at the Doctor, "But given all my experience from the times I've met you, they handled the situation rather well."

"Always it has to be clever _and _funny," the Doctor shakes his head as Myles turns again, "And not at all concerned that lives may be in danger here?"

Myles stops, his muscles tense as he plants his hooves on the ground.

"Ahhhh... Now that's got your attention, hasn't it?"

"If I find out you brought me here-"

"You'll endanger all their lives over a grudge?"

"You don't need me here."

"The TARDIS seems to disagree."

"The... sorry?"

"The TARDIS, my ship, put both of us here for a reason."

"Because you told it to-"

"Actually no," the Doctor sighs, "I was aiming for Fillydelphia and overshot by a few hundred years and ... apparently... at least one large body of water. Now she's not always the most agreeable transport, but generally she gets me where I need to be, when I need to be, whether I want to be there or not."

"So your box thinks for itself now?"

"Always has, but I don't complain because it's generally right," Myles grinds his teeth again as the Doctor approaches him, "And since nopony else could redirect your attempted teleport but me and the TARDIS, you're supposed to be here too."

"I overshot my target, just like you. Doesn't mean my house has a mind of it's own now too, does it?"

"Wouldn't rule it out, but that would be an alarming coincidence. I don't like coincidences, they always turn out not to be. But we don't know that, what we do know-"

"Is that for some reason my teleport accident just happened to land me right next to you, when your box put you somewhere you need to be without telling you."

"And that is a coincidence I find particularly troubling, don't you?"

"Have you considered asking your box to just spell it out? Don't you have a printer in there or something?"

"Well yes, but it doesn't quite work like that."

"Have you tried?"

The Doctor thinks a moment, "Look, that's background stuff right now, the important thing to be discussing is why are we here now?"

"Ask your box."

"She's a TARDIS and she's not being agreeable at the moment."

"What, did she get you here and kick you out?"

Myles raises an eyebrow at the Doctor's grim and shameful expression.

"Wait... seriously?"

"In a method she's never done before, yes," the Doctor rubs his brow with a hoof, "So it must be important. Usually its just 'this isn't where I'm supposed to be, what's that funny looking thing?' but this time, no funny or interesting thing, just tipped unceremoniously out the door in front of an angry griffon, then an even angrier unicorn pops into being next to me and the next thing I know, she's nowhere to be found. Not responding to calls either."

"Well maybe she's feeling under-appreciated."

"Look," the Doctor points to Myles with a stern furrowing of the eyebrows and a wild hoof gesture, "you can be funny all you like but that's not going to change the situation any!"

"It's changing my inclination to force you to solve this mess yourself with a swollen lump of a face."

"You know, this isn't actually helping."

"True, but even if it was I'm not certain you'd know the difference."

"Are you quite finished?"

"Gimme some time," Myles smirks, "I'll come up with something else."

"Splendid, keep irritating me and do nothing to resolve the situation at hand."

"What situation?"

"I- ... don't know, exactly... but something is very wrong. Something the griffons have caught onto and something I would've spotted by now if you'd just be quiet."

Myles rolls his eyes and sits on his haunches as the Doctor examines the forest around them. He winces a bit as the Doctor takes out the device he had previously used to confuse Myles and it begins making a similar noise to that occasion but with a tone that causes less pain. Myles' eyes widen and he places a hoof on the device to silence it.

"What are you doing? I'm trying to-"

"You're ignoring the obvious. Just listen."

The Doctor is quiet for several moments before shaking his head, "I know I have a tendency to miss these supposedly obvious things, but all I hear is silence."

"Right, and how often have you been in a forest that was _absolutely_ silent?"

The Doctor's eyebrows raise in alarm, "Not that often, but more than you'd think... and never under pleasant circumstances. You hear nothing? At all?"

Myles ears' twitch as he listens, "No except... wait..."

"What is it?"

"I can't be sure."

"Doesn't matter. Might be what's causing all this, something that every living creature in the woods fears, now what does it sound like?"

Myles shakes his head, "It's... it's buzzing... like a bee... no... several bees, a whole hive maybe but... it sounds different..."

"Different how?"

"It sounds sort of... far away... but closer..."

"You mean it's moving back and forth between two locations rapidly?"

"No... it's getting closer... You still can't hear it?"

An expression of dread falls on the Doctor's face.

"Actually I rather think I can. Just barely."

"It's headed this way, isn't it?"

"I rather think it is."

"The pitch is all wrong though... way too low... it's almost like..." Myles trails off as he spots something in the distance, prompting the Doctor to turn around.

"Almost like a swarm of exceptionally larger bees that are still quite far off?"

"Yeahp," Myles says grimly as he tugs the Doctor under a rotten and hollow tree stump, "but not quite... and not far off enough."

"What are you-"

"Shush!" Myles shouts briefly as the buzzing increases rapidly in volume, shortly becoming almost deafening for the Doctor and forcing Myles to wrap his hooves around his head to shut the sound out of his ears. The Doctor's jaw drops as he pokes his head out at the massive hairy shapes zooming past them. Soon the full swarm passes them and both ponies step out into the open to watch the mass approach griffonstone.

"So..." Myles begins awkwardly, "Just checking, seeing as this is going to sound crazy, but those looked an awful lot like Bugbears."

"They did, yes."

"Which I've only read about, since they're all supposed to be extinct or banished or something."

"Also true, but not the most troubling thing."

"And what is?"

"They move faster than any Bugbears I've seen before. And if their inclination is anything like the ones I have seen before, that is very bad news indeed."

Myles tilts his head and watches as the creatures cling to the griffons' homes and dig their claws into the sides. They snarl and tear at every loose piece they can find, but only a few seem to make any headway against the patchwork of stone. The swarm tears into the houses with frustration until another sound makes Myles and the swarm turn back towards where they came from.

/They're not here. Back to your posts/

Myles winces at the familiar tone being blasted across the landscape as the entire swarm picks up and flies back as quickly as it had appeared.

"That was interesting."

"Yeah..," Myles rubs his ears, "What do you think it meant by 'they?'"

The Doctor gives Myles a stern look, "I realize you cope with things at times by being funny but it's not really appropriate for the current situation."

"Being funny? That seems like a reasonable question, whats so funny about it?"

"Hmmmm. Sure you're not joking then?"

"Why would I be? OW!" Myles gasps as the Doctor tugs on his ear and looks inside, pulling him down with it.

"Not just limited to crystals then. So that's what you meant..." He trails off as Myles pushes him away.

"Meant by... nevermind, we gotta figure this out."

"Yes but you've already hit on the first lead. Who are 'they?' and why does this mysterious buzzing noise want them?"

"Buzzing no-," Myles blinks and shakes his head, "You didn't understand that then?"

"Not at all. Just 'BZZZZZ Bu BZZZZ' to me. The TARDIS is out of range at the moment, so it's not translating for me. What did that sound like to you?"

"Someone saying 'They're not here. Back to your posts.'"

"So they're taking commands from ... someone. Presumably someone in that direction. Shall we?"

"Are you honestly giving me the option to let you take care of this on your own?"

"Not really."

Myles sighs as he begins heading in the direction the swarm traveled, "Then let's go."

"Hear anything yet?"

"We are still headed towards them, if that's what you mean. I'll tell you when something changes."

The Doctor fiddles with his device, "Sorry. Not quite used to being the one without information. I don't much care for it, to be perfectly honest."

"Maybe it should happen more often, it might do you some good to know what it feels like."

"Oh it happens all the time, it generally just doesn't last this long," he mumbles as the device in his hand whirs a bit and stops.

"What is that thing, anyways?"

"I told you its a... Oh... I suppose I haven't yet. It's a screwdriver. Obviously."

"A screwdriver..." Myles raises an eyebrow.

"Certainly, its just sonic, none of that business with turning screws by hoof all day. Saves a lot of time and does a whole lot more."

Myles rolls his eyes, "Whatever. So I don't suppose I should bother asking you about Discord, should I?"

The Doctor looks stressed, but nods "There isn't much I could tell you that wouldn't... collapse time at this point."

"It's that serious?"

"Well... yes and no. In my timeline I've already explained it to you, so if I did it now I'd mess up both our timelines, if not more."

"How many timelines do you have your hooves in? Sounds like a big mess."

"Only three... well four possibly... but the others are dependent on eachother so... no I ..."

"Told me this before, have you?"

The Doctor gives him a strange look, then shakes his head, "No, actually... but that didn't stop you from knowing... Perhaps that is why..."

"Why what?"

"I suspect that, given your recent experience with Discord, you would appreciate any information, no matter how useless it is to you right now."

"Probably. But you said that's dangerous."

"Just the basics wouldn't hurt... they're over for me... but you need to tell me."

"But you... you mean the past you?"

"Precisely."

"How do you keep all this straight?"

"I usually don't, it just makes it more confusing if you try."

"So what can you tell me?"

The Doctor takes a deep breath, "These... these three timelines I mentioned... they all ... well there is a crucial difference in them. And every difference is, in the end, decided by one pony."

Myles shakes his head, "Brag about it more, why don't you?"

"That's rather the problem, I want to change them and I try to do as much as I can... but in the end it's up to you."

Myles stops and stares at him, "Me? I figured they'd be decided by someone who could handle all this nonsense, with all the cause and effect and weight of existence going on."

"Well actually time isn't a strict linear progression of cause to effect but more like... nevermind... what you need to know is... the smallest decision can split time in the right place, and you've got some... less small decisions to make."

"Fantastic," Myles groans, "something to look forward to."

"Technically no," the Doctor continues casually, "You're in timeline number three, or four... not sure if there was another split yet or not, but the first two timelines have already been decided."

"By me? So..." Myles looks away, "I take it I chose wrong the first two times..."

"It's not a matter of right or wrong. More it is a matter of... a preferred solution."

"So I chose wrong."

"No! Listen," the Doctor sounds stern, "I respect your choices from that... those timelines... but the problem is that you had to make them. I've been trying to find a better solution with less repercussions."

"Still sounds like I messed up. Wait!"

Myles pulls the Doctor behind another tree as they come across a clearing leading to the side of a mountain. Along the side of the incline is a large, orange and yellow structure with a large hole in the side emitting the buzzing sound they had heard earlier.

"So I've never met a bugbear before... but I was under the impression they didn't build hives."

"They don't. They're primarily solitary creatures, except when it comes to spring. They don't even have the chemical and biological makeup to produce the resin required to build this sort of structure."

"So if bugbears can't build hives... who built it for them?"

The two ponies duck quickly behind the tree as the swarm comes roaring out of the hole and screaming across the sky with a deafening buzz. The swarm passes and Myles looks at the Doctor, who smiles back.

"I'm not sure, but I think they wont mind if we pop in for a bit."

Myles grunts as his hooves shake, struggling to stay on the side of the hive and gritting his teeth as he hears a voice just below him.

"Mind speeding up? I'm going to have a bit of a situation here in a moment," the Doctor tugs his hooves free from some honey and keeps climbing, then stops and licks the honey with a strange look on his face before spitting it out. Myles chuckles and pulls himself up into the hole before tugging on the Doctor with his magic and pulling him inside as well.

"S'matter Doc? Too fresh for you?"

The Doctor spits out some more and shakes his head, "No... it's just not honey... but it does seem familiar somehow..."

Myles rolls his eyes again and proceeds to walk down the yellowy tunnel, "So is that how you figure things out? You travel across time and space tasting things to see if they're a threat?"

"Never underestimate your other senses, they can keep you alive. I'd have thought you'd know that sort of thing."

"Speaking of things I don't know, what did I mess up in these timelines?"

"I told you, you didn't mess anything up... it was just a... a regrettable circumstance."

"That you can't tell me about?"

"Not in detail, no."

"Can you let me know what this decision was?"

The Doctor sighs as he keeps walking forward, taking a few breaths before continuing, "In the first timeline... you sacrificed yourself to save your friends."

Myles nods solemnly, "I'm sure I thought I had good reason."

"You did... but... it's not the sort of thing I call a victory. Everypony was safe but... well lets just say nopony was happy with the result."

"So what about the second timeline, what did I do that time?"

"That's rather the problem, you..." the Doctor trails off as the tunnel comes to an end and the wall in front of them slides away to reveal a massive chamber at least half a mile across.

"Buck me... that's gotta be..."

"The whole mountain at least," the Doctor confirms, "If not more beneath ground level."

"Look," Myles points towards a pair of bugbears holding a struggling griffon, gasping as he realizes it was the one he left unconscious in town, "What are they doing to him?"

The Doctor's eyes slowly widen, "I have a guess... but I can only hope I'm wrong."

/Return to me. They have arrived./

Myles pushes the Doctor off the ledge and jumps after him, both of them sliding down the steep slope and landing in a pool of the not-honey. The Doctor spits it out and looks over at his current companion, "What did they say?"

"The troops are headed back, and whoever they're looking for is already here... Oh..."

"So much for that hope."

"Indeed, Doctor," A strange voice that has an underlying buzz echoes around them as they are lifted from the liquid, "You had no hope to begin with. It is a flawed concept."

The two are set down on a platform halfway up the chamber, where a section of the hive wall rotates and reveals a throne. The Doctor grits his teeth as he recognizes its occupant.

"Not honey, but electroconductive fluid. A special variety used for conversion. Filled with nanobots to stitch together the edges."

The hive echoes with the cacophony of buzzing as the swarm returns, alighting on the walls and standing at attention, growling as they watch the center platform. The griffon Myles fought earlier emerges from the cocoon it was placed in, now covered in silvery metal just like the metallic pony in the throne before them. The bugbears flicker as the images wink out, revealing an army of the same type of armored griffon. The pony in the throne looks to one of the guards holding Myles.

"Leave the Doctor, but take the companion to a chamber. He is to be upgraded."

Myles struggles as he is lifted away and thrown into a cocoon in the wall. He rushes back towards the exit but the cocoon seals itself as he pounds on the wall. The golden fluid begins to pour in from the top of the chamber and pool at the bottom.

"Oh right, cause this never gets old."

Myles lights up his horn, blasting the wall but not leaving a scratch as he tires himself out. He grits his teeth as he lays down, looking up at the holes the liquid poured in from and trying to figure out how to escape. He blinks in surprise as a small object pops out of one of the holes, flowing down with the liquid before sliding across the surface and washing up on Myles' forehoof. The tiny thing stands on its six legs and shakes the fluid away with a buzz before looking up at Myles, who looks over at his other forehoof as he hears a familiar sound.

/Find the Queen! Save the Queen!/

Last time he heard it, there were hundreds of voices in unison, but now there was only one, accompanied by a small buzzing from the bee on his other leg.

"What are you- OW!"

Myles twitches as he feels a sharp pain in his foreleg and the bee lands on his crystal. He looks down at the tiny bite marks on his leg and then eyes the creature sternly.

/No time! Save the Queen!/

"How?! I'm kinda stuck in here!" Myles lifts his leg so the bee stays above the rising fluid and stands up as the chamber begins to fill faster. The bee looks around and flies back up to the hole in the chamber. Myles frowns and sighs, "Well that was-"

/Found help! Follow!/

Myles looks down at his bracer as he hears a stronger buzzing and it begins to speak with more voices again.

/Following! Must save the Queen!/

The pony raises his hooves in front of his eyes as the chamber erupts with hundred of bees from every hole. They swarm around him and then pour back into the hole just as quickly.

/Save the pony, save the Queen. Look for the source!/

The liquid stops pouring in and columns of smoke replace it.

/Save the Queen, pony!/

Myles looks thoughtful, "Alright, but I'm gonna need more help from you."

"You look different, controller," the Doctor says with the slightest indication of snark, "New polish?"

"Your words are empty, Doctor. You could not stop us before and you will not now. You will witness this world perish and then you will be upgraded."

"Really? That sounds rather vindictive for a Cyberpony. I haven't made you angry, have I?"

"Cyberpony was before. We are more than that now."

"So I see," the Doctor nods at the surrounding griffons, "Decided ponies weren't good enough have you? Ah but I see you are still one, that seems odd."

"Command must be uninterrupted."

"Would have been easy enough to transfer yourself to a new shell... unless... oh this is good. I've got to admit, thats actually a little funny."

"What are you-"

"You don't trust them yet. They must not be stable. You converted them but you couldn't exert control... not properly... they're too different, even if they were exactly what you thought you needed. Took a big risk switching to griffons, did you?"

"All must be upgraded."

"Of course, but you already knew how to do it to ponies, why not start with them?"

"This was attempted, as you already know."

"Oh right, you mean that one time when I didn't even have to stop you because you picked on a species with control over their environment and powers you couldn't comprehend. To be honest I didn't even have to contribute, but I didn't want you to think I was getting lazy, so I pitched in. I see it wasn't enough."

"That was in error. Our new process is free of errors."

"Clearly not," the Doctor muses out loud as he looks around at the shifting metal forms, "They seem rather restless... And why even bother with the disguises and the fancy set up to match. You're all over the place with this plan, you know?"

"Adaptations were made."

"But you've got it all wrong, bugbears don't even act like this... unless... those were just the closest thing you could find to the model you were using... but why use that model at all? There had to be something wrong to begin with... ah... I see... the griffons were angry... they over powered your conversion with their willpower, so you had to turn to another form of control, one you knew existed but weren't familiar with... and that pattern was so ingrained you had to go along with the whole thing. You had to keep following the whole plan even if it didn't help. You really didn't think this through, did you?"

"We have learned from our mistakes. There will be no more."

"Have you? Did you not just throw my pony friend over there into a chamber meant for griffons?"

The silver pony pauses and buzzes a command, causing the chamber they had thrown Myles into to open and reveal...

an empty chamber.

Two cybergriffons move in to check the room, then reel back as a pony lands on ones back. It cries out in an electronic wail as its comrade strikes it down, aiming for the pony but missing as his target jumps to another griffon's back. Myles is quickly surrounded and grins.

"NOW!" he shouts before leaping again. The griffons attempt to intercept him but recoil as a wave of black and yellow pours out of the chamber and over them. Each cybergriffon cries out as the insects crawl between their joints, biting and stinging whatever is vulnerable from the inside. The cybergriffons begin to drop to the bottom of the chamber as each of them are disabled and Myles kicks off of one, rolling to his hooves on the central platform.

"Friends of yours?"

"Temporary allies at least," Myles shrugs, "they're looking for their queen."

The Doctor looks over at the silver pony again and Myles nods. The metallic pony is distracted as it shouts commands to its underlings even as they fall one by one, but its attention snaps to Myles as he drags the pony off its throne and repeatedly slams his hoof into its metal face.

"I don't suppose you know where this opens, do you?"

"Working on it!" The Doctor fiddles with his screwdriver and points it at the cyberpony, who wails in pain and pushes Myles off, kicking his back hooves at the Doctor and knocking him off the platform. Myles shouts in anger and tackles the pony again, this time pulling on the faceplate with his magic. The plate rips away from its face and Myles winces as he looks at the deformed pony before him. Its dead eyes showed no emotion but its voice echoed with anger.

"You are imperfect! You will be DELETED!"

"Nopony's perfect," Myles snarls as he cuts open the creature's chest plate with a beam of magic, "but its going to take a lot more than a keystroke to rub me out."

He rips the panels open, his eyes lighting up as he spots a glassy container containing one bee. He rips it free and leaps from the platform.

"NO! You will obey! We are perfect! We will be all! We will-" The cyberpony's cries fade as it is torn apart by the griffons.

Myles catches a loose section of the wall, struggling to climb before he feels himself lifted from below. He stares down in astonishment until the swarm of bees tips forward, dumping him back onto the ledge of the exit hall. The Doctor pulls him to his hooves.

"Come along, I've already set the hive to forcefully deconstruct!" Myles follows the Doctor as he begins running for the exit.

"They're gonna take it apart?"

"Not exactly."

"You set it to self destruct?!"

"No! Well... yes."

The two of them leap out as the walls of the corridor explode inwards and they slide down the slope, hitting the ground running as a swarm of bees erupts from the hall and gets clear just as the mountain explodes outwards and collapses. Myles looks over at the Doctor in shock.

"You killed them!"

"You saw that pony's face. They were already gone. There's nothing you can do once the full conversion takes place."

The rocks crumble as the rubble moves.

"On the other hand... that wasn't a traditional conversion..."

The two ponies back up as a small army of irate griffons emerge, tearing metal plates away from their bodies and advancing on them slowly. Every griffons eye's widen as they hear the swarm and begin running and flapping their wings to try and get airborne, chased by a large swarm of bees as they flee back towards Griffonstone. The cloud of insects swerves back and lands on the grass around them and looks at Myles expectantly until he reaches down and twists the glass case open and letting the one bee free. It floats upwards and is quickly surrounded by the swarm.

/Again we must thank you, it is twice you have saved us./

Myles blinks in astonishment, "Wait... you can't be the same Queen from Ponyville."

/You are correct, that was one of my sisters, but the swarm is vast and the swarm is one. You have aided the swarm, risking your own life though you are not part of us. We are in your debt, and will aid you when we can./

"Um... thanks," Myles looks nervously at the could, "I mean you helped me more than I helped you this time."

/We worked as a swarm. Together we are strong, with your strength we are freed. You appear to stand alone, but we are with you./

"Actually," Myles smiles faintly, "I already have some friends, but it's always nice to have more. Thank you."

/You are welcome. Call us, when you have need of anything./

The swarm breaks up, flying backwards and dissipating as it floods through the forest.

"So more than allies now?"

Myles turns to the Doctor, realizing he only understood half the conversation, and nods, "I guess so."

The Doctor smiles and his face brightens as a blue box fades into being next to them, "Ah. It seems we're done here."

Myles follows him inside the TARDIS, "Aside from all the robot bits and the empty mountain, and the angry griffons."

"Oh they're always like that," the Doctor says casually as his hooves blur over the console, rapidly entering coordinates, "and I made sure to send a kill code across the cybernetwork, by the end of the day the only proof they were ever here will be a missing mountain."

"So you've met these... Cyberponies, before?"

"Yes," the Doctor nods with a worried look on his face, "I thought they were gone... but apparently one escaped. And that means others might have as well..."

The TARDIS shakes and the doors open, showing the train station outside of Griffonstone.

"Can't you just take me back to Ponyville?"

"Not right now, I'd risk crossing my own... No... no I can't."

Myles shrugs as he steps out, then turns and stops the door from closing, "Doctor... what others?"

He looks grim, "Nevermind, you needn't concern yourself with them. I'll find them and make sure they don't trouble you again."

"You mean aside from this time?"

The Doctor stiffens, "Also that, yes."

Myles looks away as he thinks to himself, then his hoof shoots out and stops the door from closing again, "Doc... you never finished..."

"What?"

"The second timeline," Myles stares the other pony down, "What did I do in that one?"

The Doctor sighs, "If I didn't know I had already... I would never tell you this."

"What did I do?"

"Understand that I respect your decision, even if I've done all I can to avoid it."

"Doctor-"

"There is a way and I promise you'll find -"

"DOCTOR!" Myles continues as the Doctor stops short, "What did I do in the second timeline?"

The older pony takes a deep breath, "Nothing."

"What? You mean I just let all my friends die?"

"NO! No... of course not. The second timeline is... is a result of the first..."

"But you said I solved things by sacrificing myself somehow."

"Exactly... in the first... you gave yourself up entirely..."

"So how did that create... wait..."

The Doctor nods, "You... in the end... you created a timeline where you yourself... never existed... there are only six elements of harmony in the second timeline... and Ponyville is defended by whoever is available."

Myles sits on his haunches as he breathes heavily, "And... and that saved everyone?"

"They were never free from danger, but there is considerably less..."

"So why are you trying to change that?"  
"Not trying... I have, that's where this timeline came from."

"But why?"

The old pony looks away, "It wasn't right. I mean... you did the right thing... but you never should have had to..."

"Doctor..." Myles eyes water and his voice shakes, "Is... is she happy?"

"Is who happy?"

"Twilight... and the others... in the second timeline... are they happy?"

The Doctor twitches a bit, "They are... they're good friends and they're closer than anyone I know but... it isn't the same... They're plagued by problems amongst eachother. They always get resolved, though not in the easiest ways. And... and often they say that they feel something is missing. They can't identify it, but there is a hole there where you were and it pulls at them. I had to do something."

Myles nods and walks towards the train station, boarding as he watches the box fade into nothing and shakes his head sadly.

"Nice to know you have a conscience... but that may be the flimsiest lie you've ever told..."

Myles leans against the window as the train pulls away, blowing its whistle as it descends into the tunnel beneath the sea separating the continents. The sea looks surreal as the afternoon sun doesn't reach the bottom.

He wakes with a start as the train slows and stops, sitting up and looking out the window at the dusk over Ponyville before getting off the train.

"But where is Myles? Surely you could have assisted him, Twilight."

Princess Celestia and the rest of the town look on as a single pony disembarks the train, looks sadly at the citizens and his friends, and then walks towards his house slowly without saying a word. Twilight Sparkle shakes her head sadly.

"I couldn't even find him. I wanted to help but... he just wasn't there..."

"Perhaps you should keep a closer eye on him."

"I will, Princess Celestia."

"We all will," Applejack chimes in as she hugs Twilight, who smiles weakly at her.

"Thanks girls," She sniffs, "I'll probably need the help."

**Yes yes I know, this is long overdue.**

**Seriously I would love to say I'd been working on this since January but... I haven't... Heck I was stuck on the first couple of paragraphs for months. Then I was stupid and hit a block trying to figure out what threat would need both the Doctor and Myles to tackle it, forgetting that was never the point of the episode in the first place. The point was to show Myles coping with the realization he just made.**

**And then I had another idea for the future and I sat down to write this and i just... threw it in there. Its kinda heavy but I wanted to use it and it felt more natural than having the Doctor try and get Myles to cooperate. Geez. It's been forever, if you can't tell, I started writing this right after I saw the latest season of Doctor Who, hence the appearance of 12 in pony form. Rest assured he's not gonna crop up for a while, since I don't have much to draw on for him and him and Myles going back and forth results in a TON of dialogue, as you can see. That was another reason I stopped. I thought it was too much, then I realized thats just what would happen.**

**And when I sat down to write this, I didn't know what the bugbears were, only that they were going to turn out to be not real bugbears. And I know I said I would try and avoid putting too much Doctor Who stuff in, but I also said there were pony equivalents for everything and the cybermen just sort of sprung to mind. I dunno. None of the chapters in book 2 so far feel as good as the first ones... I feel like I've lost my touch somewhere. I go back and read these and I can't tell whats missing that I somehow had in season one. Not to mention I get furious when I find myself typing "so and so nods" or "so and so says" over and over. I keep telling myself that I need to move on and accept each chapter as it turns out like I used to, but I also keep wondering if it's going to keep going downhill.**

**Sorry... I want to change season 2 so far but... I can't figure out how and part of me feels i shouldn't.**

**Hopefully the chapters will get more entertaining... and maybe I'll start to get some of the old quality back... I hope.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


	30. Book 2- Ch 4

**I don't own My Little Pony.**

Luna Eclipsed or As Bad as His Bite?

Twilight Sparkle finishes pulling on her costume and straightens her hat, trying to clear her head after what she'd learned. She shakes her head and hopes nothing is making trouble in Everfree Forest. Myles deserved the day off and she was eager to see what he came up with.

"Myles!" Twilight shouts from outside the tower as she hammers on his door, "Don't make me come in there! We have to talk this out!"

"We really don't," Myles' voice was muffled, but loud enough for her to understand, "And what're you gonna do? Blast open my door?"

"Well no... I _was _going to teleport in, but I felt something pulling on my magic, it didn't seem saf-"

Twilight gasps as the door flies open and she sees Myles standing there with a familiar crazed look on his face, "Run that last part by me again?"

Twilight frowns, "Not until I get some answers from yo-"

"MyentirelifehasbeenmoldedbybeingsmorepowerfulthanIknewexistedandoneofthemtoldmethere'satimelinewhereIdon'texistandallmyfriendsarebetteroff,"

Myles takes a deep breath and smirks, "Now... repeat that last part for me please?"

"A timeline where you don-"

"No I mean the last part of what you said."

"...not until I get some an-"

"Before that."

Twilight scowls, "It felt like I was being pulled towards your tower when I tried to teleport."

Myles scratches his chin thoughtfully, "But that would mean... of course! The displacement must pull things inward, like a drain... All other magic operates on a different frequency so only displacement spells would be affected... and the process would be much simpler if one could force the magic to drain in another direction..." Myles mutters as he tries to close his door and finds it held open and glowing with a purple shimmer. He frowns at Twilight, "You're just set on making this a bad time, aren't you?"

"If I have to," Twilight frowns back, "or alternatively, you could actually talk to your friends for once."

"You're the only one here."

"Would it make you feel better if the others were present ... or is it just me that bothers you?"

"I just..." he rubs his neck nervously, "it's not exactly a topic that's going to go over well with anyone."

"Which is exactly why you can't keep it to yourself," Twilight sighs, "I can tell its bothering you, let me help."

"I really don't get how this would help."

"You'll know someone else knows."

"Someone else does know."

"Someone you can talk to anytime."

Myles takes another deep breath, "Fine, but I'm gonna multitask, I can't just set this discovery aside."

He retreats from the door, allowing her to follow him inside as he goes to the middle of the room and stares at the open air curiously. As she attempts to step in front of him, he flings a hoof in front of her to stop her.

"What're yo-"

"Just... be careful... there's no knowing how long the effects will last or how they could change with decay of power. How long ago did you try teleporting?"

"It... it was a couple minutes before I knocked... wait what're you doing in here? What do I have to be careful about?"

Instead of answering, Myles taps his goggles with a hoof and then pulls them off, setting them on Twilight's head and pulling them over her eyes.

"Hey! Watch it! Wh- Myles... what _is_ that?"

Myles continues staring at the object that Twilight can now see, a crystal shaped field of energy in the middle of his room, where his elevator was supposed to be, "Its like... a tiny little piece of reality that's just a smidge out of place... It showed up after the Doctor parked his box here the first time and he made it seem like it was something I should be thankful for. I guess I am... but first I've got to figure out how to make use of it safely... or at least without other mishaps like last week."

"Last week is another thing we need to talk about."

"Relax, the barrier was up the whole time, the town wasn't in any danger."

"That's not what I... I mean, what happened?"

"I told you already."

"Try it at a speed that could be understood by somepony other than Pinkie Pie after her third cake on her birthday."

Myles snickers and then just as quickly frowns, "Okay that was good but-"

"No! You're not getting out of it this time. It is important and you're not keeping it to yourself."

Myles sighs heavily, but continues studying the anomaly in the middle of his room, "Fine... what do you want to know?"

"Everything. Where did you go? How did you get there? Whats all this about other timelines?"

"Griffonstone. Teleported. There's more than one."

"Teleported? But I only just worked out a way to do that efficiently! How'd you figure it out?"

Myles waves a hoof at the strange shape in the middle of the room, "I had help... sort of."

"So you ... wait so you used this last week? Without telling anypony?!"

"To be fair, I did a thorough investigation of the anomaly first and then decided to run a simple test to prove a theory. Technically I proved the theory but the results were still... unexpected..."

"So you get the idea to teleport something and the first test you run is on _yourself?!_"

"It's like a revolving door, it just moves the space you're in, not you, piece by piece. There was no danger of injury... well... not the way you're thinking anyways, I did almost drown, but I blame the TARDIS for that one."

"The... sorry?"

"TARDIS," Myles mutters, "Its what the Doctor calls his blue box. Its an acronym for something, or so he claims, I'm half convinced he made it up on the spot."

"You should have told me! Or somepony! Anypony! Myles we went over this you can't keep testing these things without thinking about safety!"

"Right, of course, it must just be that I didn't think," Myles glares at her briefly before returning to the anomaly, "It's not like I spent hours measuring this thing, figuring out what gives it shape and how I could use that without blowing myself up. And of course, as I already mentioned, there was absolutely no interference from outside sources of power. That would just be ridiculous."

"But why Griffonstone?"

"Well..." Myles looks nervous again, "To be honest I was aiming for just outside the tower. The Doctor said his box was what made me miss by an entire continent. Apparently it can think for itself now. Or it always could and it's just not very talkative. Is it just me or does all of what he says sound made up when you're forced to repeat it out loud?"

"You missed by that much and you're still considering this?"

"Outside interference, Twilight," Myles huffs, "So long as his stupid box minds its own business it should be fine."

"But you said you almost drowned."

"I got pulled to a few other locations first, probably my teleport spell resisting the alterations and a power fluctuation from the unexpected distance. I was only in the water for a few seconds but I could tell I was pretty deep."

"And it doesn't concern you that this could happen again?"

"Not if my latest theory is correct," he turns back to her, "When you say 'pulled' do you mean forcefully or was it just an unexpected inclination in the direction of the spell?"

"Well no... not forcefully... just like I was sliding... sideways...sort of..."

"In other words, being pulled down the drain," he turns back to the center of the room, "of course 'down' probably has little meaning in the magical plane but the principle is the same."

Twilight shakes her head, "Just... just stay safe, okay?"

"I always try to... Okay... most of the time."

"Some of the time."

"Some of the time."

"So you wound up in the blue box?"

"No, apparently it just pulled me to Griffonstone. When I woke up I was on the edge of town and the Doctor was already in trouble with the locals. You know I always figured it was Gilda that was rude but I've started to get the impression that all Griffons are unpleasant. Well I guess I haven't met them all so its unfair to say with any certainty..."

"No I'm pretty sure there's something else at work there."

"There certainly was in Griffonstone until the Doctor and I stopped it... with a little help. The populace was getting brainwashed by some sort of... armored... pony mummy... it was being kept alive by its armor somehow... fortunately none of the Griffons had any lasting damage, so they'll live to be belligerent another day."

"That's good that nopon- nobody was hurt. These timelines then... how did you get the Doctor to tell you about them? I thought he always kept you in the dark?"

"He did until... well..."

"Until you met Discord."

"Yeah... but there's still stuff he wont tell me about, stuff he says it would be dangerous for me to know. But this time was different... and so was he..."

"How so?"

"I've seen him face to face about... three times now... I'm still not sure if those times in the crystal chamber count. Maybe I was really there but he might not have been. Trouble is his face keeps changing, not only that but I got the impression its happened before. He took the realization in pretty good stride. I don't know what forces him to change but I don't think he can change back. With each new face he seems... more out of sync with our time than before."

"How can you tell all this?"

"Little observations, but mostly the way he talks about the idea. The second time I met him he didn't even know who I was... and there was a pegasus from town with him who recognized me but had only known me for a short time."

"Was that the one who brought you back from the Time Vortex?"

Myles nods, "That's what he called it anyways. Guess he could have made that up too."

"And what about this last time? Did he recognize you?"

Myles looks troubled, "Yes but... not as somepony he'd met recently... the first version of him I met was deliberately involved in the business with Discord but... this one talked like that had happened years ago... like it was completely resolved... at least from his perspective. The only reason he told me anything was because he said that I had told him the same information in his past. And judging by the fact that the universe didn't implode I guess that was the way I was supposed to have learned it."

"So he told you about these timelines? I remember reading about the theories behind concurrent timelines but... well I suppose they're not really theories anymore."

"So we're just believing everything this pony says now?"

"...I meant because of the other Discord."

"Oh... right..."

"Why is there more than one? Whats causing them to split?"

"Apparently..." Myles shifts uncomfortably, "me..."

"You? Wait... because of Discord?"

"No... something else I'm going to do. Or something I did, anyways..."

"Something another version of you did."

"It's still me, Twilight... which means whatever split the timelines was my fault. The Doctor wouldn't tell me what it was exactly... just the end result."

"The other timelines? Including this one?"

"No this one only happened because the good Doctor didn't like the one that my actions created."

"He didn't like what?"

"Ok well he said it wasn't right..."

"What is it already?!"

Myles shakes his head and sits on his haunches, "The first timeline is the one where I make a decision that saves everypony but... apparently also creates the second timeline... the one where I don't exist. The one where I never existed."

Twilight stands frozen in shock for a moment, "W-why would you do something like that?"

"No idea... but even the Doctor agreed I had good reason to, even though he didn't like my choice. Which I guess is why I'm here... existing again..."

"Thank Celestia he did something..."

"Why? You realize how much easier it would be without me, right?"

"I... what?"

"Who knows... Discord may have remained trapped forever. You and the rest of the girls wouldn't be visiting me in the hospital every few months and... well some days Everfree forest just takes care of itself... maybe it was always supposed to..."

"Myles... You've saved me... all of us on several occasions... we wouldn't be here without you."

"Wouldn't you? That's still six elements of harmony with six talented ponies bearing them... For all I know you can accomplish more without me getting in the way..."

"You're not in the way, you're our friend..." Twilight looks shaken, "I... I cant even imagine what it would be like if you weren't here..."

"But that's the thing, there's a version of you out there who doesn't have to," Myles goes back to inspecting the room, pausing to take his goggles back from Twilight, "I asked... and he told me... he couldn't even keep a straight face when he lied to me... he wanted me to believe everypony was bothered by me being gone but... how would that even be possible? That version of you wouldn't even have known."

"Time travel wasn't supposed to be possible either. Magic does strange things without any influence from ponies... perhaps there was something that let them know."

"Oh that's right, you remember Harry Hedgehopper?"

"I... I don't think I've met a pony by that name... wait..."

"Of course you don't know him. Nopony in town has that name. Possibly nopony in Equestria. I literally just made the name up. But for all you know he was like a brother to you and now just doesn't exist anymore. And the very first mention of his name would be me, just now, having made it up, so... do you feel a sudden pang of sorrow for ol' Harry Hopper?"

"Well... no but..."

"He never existed here," Myles looks away, "Like I shouldn't..."

"Don't say things like that Myles... I have no idea what I'd do without you..."

"But you wouldn't know... and the more I think about it... the more I'm convinced that... other you is better off..."

"Myles!" Twilight shouts and pulls him into a tight embrace as she gets him to turn in surprise, "I don't ever want to hear you speak like this again. My friends mean everything to me and you're one of them. Without you ... I'd be missing out on... well lots of things."

"But nothing you can think of specifically."

"Well it doesn't help when you avoid talking to me, but I'd miss what times we did have together... I Pinkie promise..."

"A Pinkie promise doesn't rewrite reality, Twilight..." he sighs, "but... thanks anyways..."

"So promise me you wont."

"What?"

"When the time comes and the decision falls to you... I want you to promise me you'll find another way... one that makes sure you're still here..."

"I... I promise..."

"Pinkie Promise."

Myles rolls his eyes, "Cross my heart and hope to cry, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Witnessed!" Twilight and Myles turn just in time to see Pinkie herself sink back under his bed. Myles goes to look under and sure enough finds Pinkie has vanished.

"Okay... how does _that _not count as teleporting?"

"It's Pinkie Pie."

"Right right... well I guess I don't have to make the choice anymore... Pinkie would probably hunt other versions of me down to harass if I broke that promise."

Twilight smiles, "Glad to hear you'll honor your word. Even if it takes a madpony to get you to do so."

Myles shrugs, "So long as you're sure its the right thing to do..."

"I am," Twilight smiles as she walks towards the door, "Are you going to be celebrating Nightmare Night?"

"I ca-... huh... I guess I could... I never even thought about that... I haven't had to come up with a costume in years..."

Twilight smirks, "Neither have I, which is why I was hoping to see you out there. If we mess it up at least we don't have to be alone. Though I've got a pretty good idea in mind..."

"Why? You gonna go as a book? Wearing damaged goods on your head doesn't count as a costume, Twi."

A strange expression briefly crosses Twilight's face before she answers, "Well you've got a week, lets see you come up with something better."

"Oh don't think I wont..."

Twilight smiles wider and begins to leave before he stops her, "And Twilight?"

She pokes her head back into his house with a questioning look, "Yeah?"

Myles rubs the back of his neck again, "Thanks... I um... I needed that."

"I know," Twilight chuckles as she leaves, happy to have made progress in helping her friend.

Twilight sighs as she hears Spike call to her from downstairs and straightens her hat before going down to join him. She was slightly irritated when Spike failed to identify her costume, and doubly so when Pinkie Pie did the same after requesting candy for Nightmare Night at her door, but she figured Spike was too young and Pinkie likely wouldn't have retained the information long enough as she wasn't really interested in magic, especially when her own methods worked just as well, if not better. She hoped there would be one pony out tonight who would recognize her costume.

Twilight shakes her head as they arrive in the town square, coming out of her thoughts as she realizes, "Hey look, we're here already."

All around are ponies big and small, playing games and lugging around sacks of candy, reveling in the festivities of Nightmare Night. After a short encounter with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, they listen to the Mayor spin a tale of terror about the Starstone Titan and how he stalks the woods looking for lost foals to devour. Twilight smiles a bit, thinking Myles might actually find the story amusing and is delighted to hear a familiar chuckle to her left. She makes her way over to the stallion, examining his outfit carefully.

"Myles is that... are those pieces of actual Timberwolves?"

The predatory wooden figure turns towards her and she flinches as she spots the teeth, making him chuckle again, "No... but I guess I don't have to wonder if they're convincing anymore. It's just tree bark from Everfree, but it's the stuff the wolves blend in to naturally, so all I had to do was reshape some of it with magic."

"I see... and the eyes are crystals then?"

"Aw... is it that obvious?"

"Not particularly," Twilight grins, "but seeing as you made it that would make sense. Nice job, it's fairly convincing from a distance."

"Well I've seen timberwolves up close a bunch, so I kinda had an advantage," he frowns as he looks at her, "Not sure I get yours though..."

Twilight sighs, "Does nopony else read? It's obviously-"

"Starswirl the Bearded. I got that part, but I thought the point was to dress as something scary and... well no offense to the guy but he's not very intimidating. Did he really wear bells?"

"Yes! I know I've loaned you books that have some of his discoveries in them, you must have seen a painting of him in there."

"You know I only borrow those books for research."

Twilight rolls her eyes, "Well this is what he wore. Maybe it isn't scary but it doesn't just have to be scary costumes anymore."

"It doesn't? Wish I'd known," Myles scratches his chin, "I spent all week trying to figure out something that was scary to ponies besides me."

"Besides... wait why?"

"Well... I was gonna go as the Doctor... or Zecora... or even Discord... buuuut all those would sort of require explaining and I wanted the night off."

Twilight suppresses a chuckle before the two of them, Spike and several foals follow Zecora as she explains the supposed history of Nightmare Night, embellished to make it more terrifying.

Myles leans close and whispers quietly, "Do you think Luna's heard this?"

"It's probably a story that originated after she was imprisoned..."

"Huh... you'd think they'd try and make it sound less harsh considering..."

"It's just a story."

The two of them look up as the clouds split open, swirling around the moon like a vortex. A dark chariot pulled by two pegasui descends and heads towards town. The group gallops after it to see what's going on, though the foals and Pinkie flee in apparent terror. The chariot descends in the town square as they arrive and Princess Luna throws back her hood after dismounting.

"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!"

Myles clutches his ears in pain and sinks to the ground, muttering, "Seriously?!"

"WE HAVE GRACED YOUR TINY VILLAGE WITH OUR PRESENCE, SO THAT YOU MIGHT BEHOLD THE REAL _PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!_"

The Princess stepped forward as she continued, forcing other ponies to cover their ears as she approached, continuing to speak with a magically resounding voice, "A CREATURE OF NIGHTMARES NO LONGER! INSTEAD, A PONY WHO DESIRES YOUR LOVE AND ADMIRATION! TOGETHER WE SHALL CHANGE THIS DREADFUL CELEBRATION INTO A BRIGHT AND GLOOORIOUS FEAAAAST!"

Twilight wasn't sure if she was doing this on purpose, but accidental or no, this statements being punctuated with a bolt of lightning that lit up the Princesses' eyes in pure white light didn't help manners.

"Did you hear that everypony? Nightmare Moon says shes going to feast on us all!"

Pinkie Pie and several children take off screaming and Luna looks shocked, surprised enough to drop her magic loudspeaker spell, "What? No, children you no longer have reason to fear us! Screams of delight is what your Princess desires, not screams of terror!" She stomps her hoof into the ground in frustration. As she tries to address several ponies present, each one recoils in fear as they come under her attention, finally upsetting the Princess more, "Very well then, be that way! We wont even bother with the traditional Royal Farewell!"

Myles groans and rubs his head, "That is so much more intense in real life."

"She was addressing a crowd. I'm guessing you were the only pony there in your dream."

Myles nodded, having recently filled Twilight in on the details of his dreams prior to Discord in the hopes that she might spot something he missed. Neither of them had been able to figure out anything else about the crystal chamber or how real it was.

"I'm gonna go talk to her!" Twilight begins to follow the Princess but is stopped by a tug on her cape. She turns to look back at Spike, who had a hold of her costume.

"You can't talk to her, she's Nightmare Moon!"

"No she's not. I saw the Elements of Harmony change her back to good. It seems as though she's having some trouble adjusting after being gone for a thousand years."

Twilight and Myles search for the Princess, shortly finding her laying before the statue of Nightmare Moon that had been set up for the night's celebration.

"Princess Luna? Hi. My name is-"

"Starswirl the Bearded. Commendable costume. Thou even got the bells right. And a Timberwolf... it's... disturbingly convincing... did thou actually..."

"No, it's just tree bark," Myles rolls his eyes, beginning to realize he wasn't going to be free of explaining his costume after all. Twilight, on the other hand, seemed elated.

"Thank you! Finally! Somepony who gets my costume!" Twilight hesitates. "Uh I just came to welcome you to our celebration. My actual name is-"

"Twilight Sparkle and Myles Shardsole. IT WAS THOU WHO UNLEASHED THE POWERS OF HARMONY UPON US AND TOOK AWAY OUR DARK POWERS!" As the Princess resumed her royal shout, Twilight reeled from the force of wind passing by her before it settled down.

"And that was a good thing, right?"

"But Of Course! We Could Not Be Happier! Is That Not Clear?"

Twilight is grateful the princess toned down the volume as she approaches and Myles looks relieved as he uncovers his ears, "Well... you kind of sound like you're yelling at me."

"But This Is The Traditional Royal Canterlot Voice. It Is Tradition To Speak Using The Royal 'We' And To Use THIS MUCH VOLUME WHEN ADDRESSING OUR SUBJECTS!"

Twilight straightens her beard and hat. This was going to take some work.

"You know... that might explain why your appearance was met with... mixed results. I think if you just changed your approach a bit, you might be met with a warmer reception."

"CHANGE OUR APPROACH?"

Myles winces, "There's only two of us here, Princess. And there are going to be some ponies in Canterlot who are real curious about what the other half of this conversation sounded like."

"Oh..." The Princess seems to catch on, "We have been locked away for a thousand years... we are ... not sure we can."

"I'm pretty sure you can. You did when you were talking to me."

"That was different... it was urgent that you listen and... well Celestia warned me- us about your... inclination towards royalty."

Twilight glanced strangely between them both. Myles looked skeptical, "Riiiight... Well I'm sure we can think of something..."

"Fluttershy! She can help!"

Myles raises an eyebrow and smiles as he follows the two towards Fluttershy's. Twilight urges him forward and he falls into step next to her as she starts to whisper, "She dropped the royal speak on accident again... what did you do?"

"Nothing... at least not on purpose..."

"You said she had done that when she was talking to you before, right?"

"Well yeah... but it was always because I confronted her with something that caught her off guard. That just sort of ... happened."

Twilight looks thoughtful and her cheeks tinge pink, "Maybe she was nervous..."

"Why would she be? She's the Princess of the Night?"

"Well... I have a theory..."

"We hope you are discussing this possible solution to our problem," Luna's voice issues from behind them and they hurriedly nod at her, causing her to look embarrassed for a moment. Twilight tries to reassure her as they make their way up the path to Fluttershy's.

"Don't worry Princess, Fluttershy can give you some great pointers. She's delicate and demure with the sweetest little voice." Twilight smiles as she knocks on the door and all three of them recoil from the torrent of sound that comes from behind it.

"GO AWAY! NO CANDY HERE! VISITORS NOT WELCOME ON NIGHTMARE NIGHT!"

Twilight laughs nervously, "Uh... Fluttershy, it's me, Twilight."

The door cracks open and the pegasus peeks around the edge, resuming her normal quiet tone of voice, "It is you... and a timberwolf... oh and Nightmare Moon."

Her eyes widen, "Nightmare Moon!" Fluttershy screams before slamming the door in their faces. Myles has both hooves covering his mouth to hold in his laughter as Luna rolls her eyes.

"Wait right here," Twilight makes her way inside and they hear crashing of furniture.

"So um..." Myles coughs, "Heard from the Doctor lately?"

"Nay, Shardsole, we've not seen him since the last time we met in your dream."

"Hey, that was pretty good."

"What was?"  
"Just now, you talked quieter."

Luna seemed to look shocked but before she could reply Twilight pushed Fluttershy out the door, "Fluttershy, urgh, you remember Princess Luna?"

Luna extends a hoof, "CHARMED." Myles tries not to laugh again as Twilight has to drag Fluttershy back with her magic, she mutters quietly.

"Likewise."

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE HAS SPOKEN OF THE SWEETNESS OF THY VOICE! WE THAT THOU TEACHEST US TO SPEAK AS THOU SPEAKEST!"

"'Kay."

"SHALL OUR LESSONS BEGIN?"

"Okay."

"SHALL WE MIMIC THY VOICE?"

"Ohkay."

"HOW IS THIS?"

"Perfectlessonover."

Myles finally bursts into raucous laughter as Fluttershy flees again and slams into the door after Twilight closes it.

"A little quieter, Princess."

"HOW IS... this?"

"Better, right Fluttershy? Myles?"

Myles manages to nod as he covers his mouth again and Fluttershy laughs nervously, "Yes."

"How... about... now?" Luna's voice becomes more steady and bearable with each word.

"Now you're getting it."

"And... how about... now?"

"Yes! Well done."

Twilight breathes a sigh of relief that turns into a groan just as Luna picks up Fluttershy and hugs her, resuming her normal voice only slightly quieter, "THANK THEE, DEAR FLUTTERSHY. OUR NORMAL SPEAKING VOICE SHALL SURELY WIN US THE HEARTS OF THY FELLOW VILLAGERS."

"Fluttershy you've gotta hide us! Nightmare Moon is here and-" Pinkie gasps and stops in her tracks, "She stole Fluttershy's voice so she can't scream when she GOBBLES HER UP!"

Pinkie and the foals following her flee in terror once again.

"NAY CHILDREN, WAIT! I mean... Nay... children... wait!"

Twilight drags Myles to his hooves and punches him lightly in the shoulder with a hoof. He nods and bites his lip, beginning to calm down as Twilight turns to Luna with a smile, "C'mon Princess, time for plan B."

"Come on, Twi," Myles resumes whispering as he trots next to her towards town, "it was a little funny."

"You're not helping," she hisses back, though her expression looks mixed.

"Kinda hard to help when I'm out of the loop on the plan, nevermind this mysterious theory you seem to have. I hope it wasn't that Fluttershy would make a good speaking coach, because that's pretty much bust." Myles chuckles again but she stops him by placing a hoof firmly on his mouth.

"This is serious," she says as she shoots him a stern gaze.

"So is my job, doesn't mean I can't find stuff funny while I'm doing it. Not everything has to be terrifying, Twilight."

"Says the stallion wearing what looks more and more like a timberwolf."

"It's just bark! And that's not what I meant. I was trying to say that it can help dealing with scary things if you make light of the situation. Some ponies-"

"This isn't just anypony, this is Luna, we have to help her."

"I know I know," Myles rolls his eyes, "What's your next idea, anyways?"

Her reply is cut short when they walk into town and Luna's presence is once again met with terrified shrieks.

"It is of no use, Twilight Sparkle. They have never liked us... and they never shall."

"My friend Applejack is one of the most likable ponies around. I'm sure she'll have some ideas!"

As she speaks they approach the apple bobbing tub, which Applejack turns casually away from, suddenly jumping in shock when she comes face to face with Nightmare Moon and a timberwolf.

"Uhhhhh Applejack?"

"Seriously... it's just bark..."

"It is extremely convincing, we thought thou were actually a wild wolf when thou didst approach the first time."

"Thanks I guess..."

Twilight carries on, ignoring the conversation behind her, "The Princess was looking for a little help on how to fit in around here."

Applejack looks up from her cowering position in disbelief, "Fit in? Really?"

Under Twilght's scowl she gets up and coughs nervously, addressing Luna herself, "I mean... that's easy. All you gotta do is have the right attitude. Loosen up a bit. Be positive. Play a few games. Have some fun."

"Fun? What is this 'fun' thou speakest of?"

Twilight and Applejack show her to a few of the games set up for Nightmare Night and a frightened pony explains the object of the game to Luna. After some encouragement she is able to land a fake spider on the web set up as a target. "Ha! Your princess enjoys this... 'fun'... In what other ways may we experience it?"

Applejack leads Luna to another game as the townsfolk gather around hopefully. Soon a pumpkin hits a bullseye set farther down the field, "HAHA! The fun has been doubled!"

"So I guess she just needed to relax," Myles whispers to Twilight.

"What?"

"That was your theory, right? She just needed to get over her nervousness about dealing with ponies? Kinda funny, considering the holiday..."

"No that wasn't my theory at all."

"Oh... then what was it?"

"Well... it had to do with-"

"GAH! NIGHTMARE MOON IS GOBBLING PIPSQUEAK! EVERY PONY RUNNNNN!"

They turn to see Pinkie shouting as Luna looks on from the apple bobbing tub, Pipsqueak dangling by his shirt which is held in Luna's teeth. He struggles free and flees with the rest of the children as he shouts, "HELLLP! MY BACKSIDE HAS BEEN GOBBLED!"

"Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled thou ungrateful whelp!" Luna's words are punctuated by yet another lightning strike and the villagers begin to back away nervously, "Fair villagers, please do not back away! Let us join together in... 'fun!'"

Luna flings another fake spider and the crowd looks at it curiously.

"Not enough fun for you? What say you to THIS!"

She blasts the spider with magic, turning it's fluffy coat into carapace as it springs to life, it's eyes glowing red as it turns and stalks towards the web. She does the same to the bowl of other spiders and the entire group swarms over the web. In addition to a few terrified ponies who stood between the two.

"Huzzah! How many points do I receive!?"

A spider still clings to a pony's mane, causing her to scream and set the rest of the crowd into a panic.

"You know," Myles looks at the web thoughtfully, "That would actually be a record if ... I mean I don't think there's actually any rule against animating the spiders but... it does seem a little... unfair."

"Do not run away! As your Princess, we command you!" Luna's protests fall on deaf ears amongst the chaos as decorations tumble after being hit by ponies in a blind panic.

"BEEEEE STILLLLLLLL!"

Everypony falls to the ground as lightning punctuates the cry once again.

"Princess, remember! Watch the screaming!"

"NO, TWILIGHT SPARKLE! WE MUST USE THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SAY."

Luna takes to the air as she addresses the crowd, "SINCE YOU CHOOSE TO FEAR YOUR PRINCESS RATHER THAN LOVE HER... AND DISHONOR HER WITH THIS INSULTING CELEBRATION... WE DECREE THAT NIGHTMARE NIGHT SHALL BE CANCELED! FORRRREVER!"

She takes off towards the woods, leaving the crowd in shock and sadness over the abrupt ending to their festivities. Twilight shakes her head, "It's not over yet."

"What're you gonna do?"

"I'm going to do what I do best... lecture her!" Twilight takes off after Luna again and Myles chuckles as he follows.

"Oh I've gotta see this."

Myles is stopped in an alley as a loud screech assaults his hearing. He throws his hooves over his ears and reels for a bit, recovering only when it falls silent. Looking up, he spots a pony dressed as a chicken that looks like...

"Pinkie?"

"Myles?!"

"Yes of course it's me! Why would you think... oh come on IT'S JUST BARK!" Myles shouts as Pinkie gingerly taps his costume.

"Wowwwww... that's super convincing! For a second there I thought Ponyville was under attack by real timberwolves. Nice job, Myles! Rainbow is gonna have to work extra hard to top that!"

"So no screeching about me gobbling you up then?"

"Of course not, silly," she pokes his snout through the opening in his costume, "I know it's you."

"Didn't seem to stop you from reacting that way to Princess Luna."

"Well she's not gonna gobble me up either, I'm as big as either of you. Sometimes it's just really fun to be scared!"

"I- 'Fun?!'" Myles thinks for a moment and then grins, "Pinkie Pie you're a genius!"

"No I'm not. I'm a chicken!"

"Nevermind just come with me!" He says as he drags her towards the direction he last saw Twilight running.

"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! YOU WERE WISE TO BRING THIS CANDY TO ME! I AM PLEASED WITH YOUR OFFERING! SO PLEASED THAT I MAY JUST EAT IT... INSTEAD OF EATING YOUUUU!

Luna spits out the fake teeth and descends from the pedestal as the foals (and Pinkie) flee in terror once more, "I am not certain that did what you meant it to do," she casts a nervous glance at Twilight and Myles, who merely smile back as the Princess responds to a tug on her mane. Pipsqueak stands before her, looking apprehensive but hopeful.

"Um... Princess Luna. I know there's not gonna be anymore Nightmare Night... but do you suppose maybe you could come back next year and scare us again anyway?"

Luna looks to the crowd of foals watching tensely from behind a bush, then turns her attention back to Pipsqueak, "Child... are thou say that thou... likest me to scare you?"

"It's really fun! Scary... but fun!"

"It... is?"

"Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year!"

"Well then... we shall have to bring NIGHTMARE NIGHT BACK!"

Pipsqueak is blown back by the force of her voice, but cheers and hugs her leg, "You're my favorite princess ever! She said yes guys!"

The children cheer as he brings the news back.

"See? They really do like you, Princess!"

"Can it be true? OH MOST WONDERFUL OF- I mean...Oh most wonderful of nights..." Luna looks embarrassed as Myles once again throws his hooves over his ears and she shifts back to her quiet voice.

Myles watches as Twilight composes her letter to Princess Celestia near the statue. Luna had gone back to the town to participate in more games and revel in her newfound popularity and friendships. He smiles to himself, secretly glad she had convinced him to come out that night despite the trouble with his costume.

A dark cloud floats close to the ground, setting up behind Twilight with a masked pegasus riding on top. Myles grins and taps the pony on the shoulder. "Hey Rainbow."

Twilight turns just in time to see a rainbow colored streak racing away from Myles as they hear a familiar scream of fright. Myles snickers a bit, but quickly hides it.

"It's okay Myles... that was pretty funny."

Myles smiles gratefully as he bursts into all-out laughter and Twilight and Spike soon join him. It is several minutes before they catch their breath and Myles turns back to Twilight.

"So was your theory right?"

Twilight looks nervous, "Um no... now I think about it... it was more of a wild guess..."

"Well what was it?"

She bites her lip, "Well...she only dropped the royal tone when you were around at first... so I thought it might be you."

"I told you I didn't do anything."

"I know... but I thought it might just be that you were there... I thought maybe the Princess dropped the act because... well because she liked you."

"She's pretty friendly with everyone now, what's the difference?"  
"No I mean... she ...uhhh... _liked _you."

"Okay just because you say the word in a different tone of voice doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly understand."

"Just... nevermind..."

"No! C'mon Twilight tell me or its gonna keep me up all night!"

"I thought maybe she wanted you to be ... her special somepony."

Myles eyes widen and his eyelid twitches as he catches on, "Why? Did she hit her head or something?"

Twilight giggles, "Must have, can't see why else she'd want to be with a handsome or accomplished magic user."

She chuckles more as she and Spike walk away together. Myles remains still in shock as he tries to take in everything he just heard.

"Did I hit my head or something?"

Twilight sits up in bed that night, going over her plan and recalling the strange meetings that had occurred after she left Myles' home earlier that week.

"That is actually brilliant... I kind of see it now."

Twilight gasps as she hears the familiar accent and whirls around to see a skinny pony with a ruffled mane and a large nose, smiling widely as he steps into the light and reveals his gray coat and hourglass cutie mark, complete with sand that seems to shift.

"No! Just... just leave him be!"

"What? Oh right. Thats actua-"

"Just once! Let the future be the ahead of him... dont make him face it now... no more warnings or hints at the future... he needs to rest from all this! Can't you see what you're doing to him? Does it really have to-"

"Sorry, not a lot of time but this is all making much more sense now because I'm actually here to let you know, ignore what I'm about to say."

"I... what?"

"Well not me exactly, but the other me," the Doctor looks thoughtful, "I mean I'll look the same but it wont be me me it'll be me from before, when I thought what you were doing was going to collapse the universe. Still could be doing that to be honest, but since it's held up this far it seems like it's worth a shot."

His ears twitch and he looks nervous as a drawn out metallic sound fades into hearing, "Remember, don't listen to me! Do what you feel is right no matter what I say!"

He taps a bracer on his hoof and vanishes in a puff of smoke and a spark of electricity.

Twilight is just about to get over the shock of what just occurred when the Doctor reappears, this time wearing a funny looking cap with a short brim, "Right, I meant just this time of course. And not right now, but the next me, this is me from after, but just remember, when you're done ignoring me this one time, start listening again, very important, sorry for the mix up." The Doctor vanishes just as quickly as before.

Twilight shakes her head and rounds the corner as she walks back to the library, not at all surprised when she feels a hoof tap her shoulder and she turns towards an alley between two houses. She rolls her eyes as she steps into the alley and immediately hears the same accent hissing a whisper at her.

"I know what you're thinking, and trust me, while the sentiment is moving, the idea itself is actually extremely very not good and could in fact result in all of reality collapsing. I know I don't have to tell you that that isn't an acceptable outcome for anypony."

"It hasn't happened yet, so for all you know it wont happen at all," Twilight narrows her eyes at the pony, who steps back in alarm, "and no force on or outside of Equestria is going to stop me, least of all you."

The pony sighs, "Well of course I can't because its... complicated but... if the collapse actually does start it will be too late to save this timeline. That means everypony is gone, not just you and your friends."

"No. Things will work out... if they didn't... you'd have nothing to do, wouldn't you?"

"Excuse me? I'm the Doctor. I stop eleven such events like this every day of my life because I skip the boring days. I know Myles may not have the best opinion of me but... oh ... oh you meant that's what I do... right... sorry... I suppose."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Oh it's no trou... I mean I'd do it anyways, no need for thanks."

"I meant for everything... and for giving him another chance... or ...what are we up to now... three?"

"Possibly."

"Right. Just thanks for all you've done for us... I know we're never in the right frame of mind to thank you when things happen... especially not Myles... but please... just let me handle this one."

He shrugs, "There isn't anything I can do to stop you really, I just needed you to be aware of the risks. One of the downsides of my hobby actually... sure you get to save a lot of ponies but... the ones you can't... well its difficult, to say the least. Especially when one has to watch it unfold."

"Then take a break, Doctor," Twilight calls over her shoulder as she leaves the alley, "and sit back and watch this."

Twilight lays back in her bed and nods, "Well... no turning back now."

**Phew... sorry... that took longer than I wanted.**

**Because of Myles' previous encounters with Luna, I knew I wanted him in the bulk of this episode, but when I wrote the first draft, I just had the conversations with Twilight and was so tired I wrote him out of the main story. Fortunately I realized I was just being lazy and resolved to finish the chapter later. Then I got to thinking about it again and realized that my comments at the end of the last chapter, combined with what Myles had found out, sorrrrrt of made it look like I was gonna try and end this story early. So I had to finish this, both for myself to keep some semblance of momentum and for the people who are actually still interested enough to be reading this. Hope you're still enjoying this. **

**I know I sounded down on it last time but the whole point of this exercise was to live with what came out of it and not to overthink a story too much. Granted that sort of went out the window when I got such a positive response upon posting the story, but after reading and re-reading the story I realized that the chapters I enjoyed most were the ones where I let myself get sort of carried away with the story. Obviously there's nothing wrong with editing afterwards to keep the story from collapsing in on itself and there are going to be chapters I wish were better and don't really like reading myself but... well we all have our favorite parts of stories and parts we'd rather skip. While I'd love for my writing to keep readers entertained throughout, I realize now I'm going to miss the mark occasionally. And again that was the point of writing any of this down, practice without too much stress. In the hopes that things I learn here would help if I ever get around to writing something I can say is completely my own.**

**And one of the things I've learned over and over now is nothing ever turns out exactly to plan and that's not at all a bad thing. Originally Myles was just going to sort of follow Twilight around and snark all over the plot, something I have said I wished not to do in the past, however I wanted him in the episode alongside Luna and her first foray into the public after being imprisoned for a millennium. Just thinking of his costume and the reason for a tiny plot hole I left in earlier chapters filled things in a bit, not to mention gave me a chance to do some foreshadowing concerning a certain purple unicorn.**

**Speaking of Twilight Sparkle, what's she up to? How did she get Myles to talk this time? Why does the fourth incarnation of the Doctor to appear in my story find it so troubling? What of these other timelines? You'll have to wait on that, sorry.**

**I like a well written time travel mystery/shenanigans, so when I realized I could potentially put the actual series in as an alternate timeline caused by said shenanigans, I decided to throw it in there as well. Of course the fact that the third timeline exists sort of lessens the impact of that, but the alternative was saying that the show as it is happened because Myles erased himself from existence, which was just really sad to think about. And even if I hadn't already posted the idea in the last chapter, I like it too much to take it out just because it didn't work out the way I intended. Maybe I'm lazy. Maybe I'm comfortable with how the story is going. Why does it work in story? Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey that's why.**

**Though a reviewer did question the incarnations of the Doctor I've covered and mostly got it right. I just wanted to take the opportunity to clarify in case anyone else was unsure. The Doctor that Myles meets first is Ten, as previously mentioned, in the time vortex he came across Nine, which is also where I alluded to the Bad Wolf scenario that, no will not be in this story but might come up again anyways since it would mean that the Ditzy Doo that currently exists in Ponyville is probably post this universe's version of "Doomsday" from that series. But that's some heavy stuff and I'm still not sure how to handle it. It's the most plausible reason she's not with the Doctor anymore though. Where was I? Oh yeah. Last chapter we met the Twelfth Doctor from the far future and this time we got a brief meeting with Eleven if that wasn't obvious from the blatant parallels. He's wearing one of those golfing caps which I'm sure has an actual name. Those caps are cool. **

**I'm still worried that people might take issue with my story and say it's a crossover... but it's been fine up to now so I suppose it's passable. If you came here to read a My Little Pony story without Doctor Whooves then I'm sorry, but he's part of the show and it's been useful for making my story more fun to write. Hm... that probably says a lot about me... I'm sure a story _without _time travel would have worked just fine but... I wouldn't have been as excited to write it.**

**Um... oh the episode! The Mayor has clown shoes on her front hooves only! How does a society of beings without toes develop the concept of shoes as we know them? This isn't the only time either, in Cutie Pox the tap shoes on Applebloom's cutie mark have toes as well (Sorry...I should have pressed stop when I began to write this part). Why would having large, easily tread upon toes be funny to a race of hooved ponies? Why would they need to develop special shoes that make a noise when they hit the floor when hooves would probably make those sounds naturally?**

**I'm thinking way too hard about this... there's plenty of things that shouldn't exist in this show because of what they originate from.**

**But on the topic of things that have disturbing implications but are perfectly possible: we get the second mention of the concept of zombies in this episode, as well as a pony with stitches on her body and bolts in her neck like a certain classic literary monster. Sure its a staple of classic horror at this point, but that means that rather macabre story has an equivalent in their universe and also deals with the concept of undeath in a world where Tartarus has a nearby accessible entrance.**

**There's a vampire in there somewhere too, but that sort of happens anyways later on without the actual undeath part so... I dunno. Maybe there's another explanation that gets around that for both of the other things as well but I've yet to hear it.**

**Then again, I've still only seen half of season 5 and the first half of 6 went up, so I may be wrong now. I want to watch the new ones but... it also tends to remind me that I haven't gotten very far in this story.**

**-Dr. Spacewizard Esq.**


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